Never Drinking Again
by WinkyCutto
Summary: After a night out with David and Robin Hook wakes suffering for his sins but as time passes it becomes apparent that there is more going on than meets the eye... will his friends realize in time or will our Piarte be left to suffer all by himself?
1. Chapter 1

**Set at the end of season four without Emma going dark...**

 **I'm afraid that our Poor Pirate is about to suffer at my hands again... but you guys asked for it so who am I to refuse.**

 **Not as long as my other fics, just a wee bit of fun.**

Morning came around much too quickly for his liking as the sun streamed into his cabin and made his head pound in time to his beating heart. Gods, how much had he drank last night? The night had started off well enough, he had planned to only have a couple then sneak away to meet up with Emma but somehow things got out of control and David of all people had insisted that they complete their evenings events with a few hands of poker and wouldn't take no for an answer when Killian had tried to refuse even sending Emma a texted message to confirm that they would be back late.

Killian groaned as he pulled himself up from his bunk and the room swayed dramatically, what on earth had he been drinking to feel like this? Definitely not his beloved rum, that would never do this to him.

He didn't have time to ponder it as his stomach suddenly started churning and he had to run to the water closet only just making it in time before his stomach rebelled against the previous nights activities.

"Hook?!" Emma's voice carried down from the deck but he couldn't answer, hell he could barely breathe.

He heard her footsteps approaching and sure enough seconds later her voice was by his side but if he was expecting sympathy he was looking in the wrong place.

"Serves you right, Dad doesn't look much better." she chastised as his stomach lurched again "Great, now I have to put up with the two of you acting like you're dying all day. Meet us on deck when you're done we have work to do"

And with that she was gone leaving him to get his shaking form up from the floor by himself. He felt awful but knew that if he so much as tried to make an excuse not to go with Emma and David they would kill him so he stumbled his way back to his cabin and pulled on some clothes. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror by the end of the bed to see his usually well sculpted hair in disarray but he didn't stop to try and fix it knowing that Emma was pissed enough without having her waiting longer than necessary.

The bright sunshine seared into his retinas and his brain screamed in protest as he brought his hand up to try and shield his face.

"Let's go, Blue reported that there has been a break in at the church last night. Unfortunately I am the only one fit to drive today so it looks like all three of us get to go deal with it." Emma complained loudly.

"Or here's an idea, how about you and Hook go deal with it and I'll go and investigate that delicious smell that seems to be coming from Granny's" David replied and before Emma had a chance to argue he had marched off down the gang plank and was practically running for the diner.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE" Emma screamed but David just turned and gave a small wave as he carried on up the wharf.

Emma stood seething by Killian's side "Why I'm gonna..." she trailed off then turned on Killian in a threatening tone "If you so much as think about following him you will regret it"

"Love, I have no inclination to follow him" he tried his best to make it sound like he wanted to be with her but in truth the thought of food was making his stomach roll again.

"Good" she barked out in reply before heading down the gang plank "He's so doing the next few nights on call duty, both of you are."

She was really pissed. Killian sighed and slowly followed her down to the squad car before climbing in with a groan when his whole body seemed to protest the movement.

"Don't think you are going to be doing that all day either" Emma practically snarled "You are worse than a child, you are the one who got yourself in that state so keep the groans to yourself"

Killian had no answer to that, he really didn't think he had drunk that much, well not enough to have him feeling like this anyway but here he was feeling like death would be a blessing.

"Sorry Love. I really am. I will make it up to you I promise... just as soon as the world stops spinning"

Emma sighed heavily then reached across to tug open the glove box and rummaged around inside coming out with a white bottle.

"Here take two of these, there's bottled water in the back"

He took the bottle from her hand and looked at it "Tylenol?"

"They're painkillers Hook just take them, they'll help with the headache and maybe we can get on with our day"

If Killian had thought that it was going to be as easy as that he was sorely disappointed as a couple of hours later when they were all back at the station he once again found himself hugging the toilet as his stomach tried to kill him again. He flopped back to sit on the cold hard floor and take stock of himself, he felt truly awful... he was never drinking again.

Dragging himself to his feet he managed to make his way back into the office to see David grinning widely at him.

"You look like hell."

"This is your fault, make no mistake. I had planned to go home at a sensible time but YOU, you wouldn't let me and then you gave me god knows what to drink"

"Hey as far as I'm aware you only had what I had which was beer so if you drank something else I suggest you talk to Mr Hood"

Killian was about to lower himself down onto one of the chairs when Emma suddenly spoke stopping him in his tracks.

"Go home Hook, you are no use to anyone in this state but I swear if you EVER do this to me again there will be trouble... FOR BOTH OF YOU" she yelled turning to David as he chuckled.

"Hey, don't shout at me" David replied raising his hands in mock surrender "He drank just the same as I did and I'm fine now. Not my fault that he can't handle it"

Killian would normally have defended himself but he didn't have the energy to care. He just made his weary way across to Emma, he tried to give her a kiss on the cheek but she pulled away and raised an eyebrow at him giving him a look of disbelief

"You think I'm gonna let you come near me looking like that... go home"

He just sighed and made his way towards the door turning to look back at her as he left but the look of total disappointment she gave him had him hanging his head in shame.

It took him forever to make his way back to the Jolly but finally after lighting a fire in the small hearth to take away the chill in the air he lowered himself back into his bed where he just wanted to stay until he felt better. Emma had left him with the pain pills and had messaged him with instructions on when to take them as he had been walking home. He looked at the clock to see that it would be safe for him to take some more, he just needed to find something to wash them down with. Leaning over the side of his bed he pulled open one of the small cupboards and took out the first thing that came to his hand... rum.

Nope... not even his love of the liquid could make him use that now with the way he was feeling so he put his hand back in and fumbled about until his fingers felt the familiar plastic of the bottled water that Swan insisted on storing there for when she stayed over. He swallowed the pills down and drank most of the rest of the bottle of water knowing he'd had very little that day and what he had managed to drink he had lost a few hours later.

With a heavy sigh he threw himself back on to his pillows and closed his eyes... and he knew no more.

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"Calm down Emma, it's not like he goes out every night and gets drunk... and being honest it was kind of my fault."

Emma looked at David who was currently sitting at his desk trying not to look too guilty.

"What did you do?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him

"ME?" he protested but then his shoulders fell and he sighed "OK OK, me and Robin MAY have added a couple of extra shots into his beers but honestly I didn't think he would be that bad."

"Daaaaad" Emma whined "Now I will probably have to spend another night on my own. What were you thinking?"

"Honestly? I was thinking that he needed a boys night out. Emma he hasn't relaxed in a long time. He's been so worried about you turning dark that he hasn't done anything else other than make sure you were alright and yes I know that's his choice but we just thought it might be nice for him to have some fun and it worked too... until this morning. I'm sorry, we just wanted to have a laugh and after the week we just had I think we deserved it"

Emma stayed quiet for a few minutes just thinking over her Father's words but quickly realized that he was right. Hook had done nothing but fuss over her since their return to reality even though he was the one who probably needed it more than her. She shuddered again at the thought of the pain he must have gone through when her own Father had plunged that dagger into his back, the look on his face as he slid to the ground in front of her would haunt her for the rest of her life so God only knows what the experience had done to Hook... or her Dad.

"Fine... but he better be alright for tomorrow, he's been complaining all week that he doesn't want to go but this is important to Henry and I want him there"

"That's not fair Emma and you know it. It's not that he doesn't want to go he just doesn't want to wear that suit that you picked out for him, he's a Pirate not a spy it's not really him is it? Look, leave it with me, I'll make sure your Pirate is in suitable attire tomorrow morning and he'll be at the city hall at ten thirty sharp."

Emma narrowed her eyes once more at her Dad but he just gave her a smile and carried on with his paperwork. He better be right, Henry was being presented with an official award from the fairies for his quick action over the whole Author fiasco. When Emma thought about it she couldn't stop smiling at how well he had handled the whole thing. She was proud of him and wanted him to know it so after the award ceremony there was a party planned back at Granny's where anybody who wanted to join them would be welcome.

Her anger had left her and a little niggle of worry now seeped in as she thought how bad Hook had looked when he had left a few hours ago. In all honesty she had not managed to get much work done, she had been so mad at both him and her Dad that she had silently fumed in her chair while scribbling angry doodles on her note pad.

Maybe she should go and check on Hook, take him some soup from Granny's. Decision made she stood up and grabbed her jacket.

"You can lock up and guess who is on call tonight? I'll give you a hint... not me" she grinned at his shocked face.

"Emma... that's not fair, I did all of last week" he called after her as she marched out the door

"Yeah well another day won't hurt then will it" she called back and chuckled to herself as she left.

Half an hour later with chicken soup in one hand and a large carton of fruit juice in the other she made her way on board the Jolly Roger. She walked quietly in case Hook was sleeping and when she finally pushed his cabin door open a few minutes later it was to find that she had been right. He lay face down breathing heavily into his covers in the stiffing heat of the small room. She smiled at how innocent he looked in that moment but she also knew that if he had been sleeping since he left her a few hours ago he would regret it later that night when he couldn't settle so she put her supplies on to the table and sat herself on the edge of his bed.

"Hook" she gave him a nudge and he groaned as he peeked open an eye to look at her

"Swan?" he muttered in confusion before suddenly realizing that something might be wrong "What is it? What's happened?" he added trying to sit himself up.

"Nothing, I just came to see how you were feeling and to bring you some soup."

She saw him visibly relax as he turned himself over to sit facing her, he still looked like hell only now with the heat in the room he was sweating profusely with it.

"It's like an oven in here" Emma said as she fanned herself wildly and she stood back up to open the door to the lower deck again to let out some of the heat.

"Sorry Love, I was a bit cold before I fell asleep maybe lighting the fire wasn't my best idea" he closed his eyes and gave a wince as Emma moved back over to the bed and sat back down.

"How are you feeling?" she asked cautiously which made him open his eyes again

"A bit better, those pills you gave me allowed me to sleep at least and my headache seems to have dulled a bit. Thank you."

He gave her a tired smile then blinked his eyes widely trying to wake himself up as she got up and went back to her supplies.

"Want some soup?" she said raising the take out carton up for him to see

Something in his face made her think he was about to decline but instead he nodded and she grinned in surprise.

"I'll just go grab a few things from he galley, back in a minute"

She quickly left the room, grabbed a bowl, a spoon and a glass for his fruit juice then headed back to the cabin to find that Hook had already dozed off again. Maybe he did just need to sleep this off? Deciding that she needed to make sure he had at least eaten first she quickly got his meal ready then shook him awake again.

"Sorry Love" he whispered as he opened his eyes again "It would seem that my headache is not as gone as I thought it was"

"Where's the Tylenol?" Emma sighed rolling her eyes

"Somewhere on the floor I think" he mumbled back.

She looked down and quickly found the bottle near the foot of the bed, how had this man managed to survive all these years by himself? Grabbing the bottle she handed over two pills seconds later then handed him the glass of juice to wash them down with. He pulled a face as he swallowed them and she couldn't help the little giggle she gave at how much he reminded her of Henry in that moment, what was it with men and taking pills?

In the end he barely touched the soup but she was happy to see that he finished off the juice but by then he was practically sleeping sitting up and she admitted defeat.

"Go back to sleep Hook, my Dad will be here in the morning to make sure that you are ready for Henry's award ceremony"

He groaned again and dramatically let his arm fall over his eyes

"Don't worry you don't have to wear the suit if you don't want to, wear what you want just make sure it is appropriate, no leathers"

He pulled back his arm and looked at her with a wide smile across his face.

"Truly?"

She couldn't help it, she laughed again at the happiness on his face "Yes, truly. You're really not the James Bond type are you?"

"Who?" he said furrowing his brow and tipping his head to one side slightly as if trying to figure out if he should know who that was.

"Never mind, just go back to sleep"

She stood for a few minutes and just watched as the smile slid from his face, he slipped back into sleep right in front of her eyes and she shook her head with another sigh.

"I swear if you show up wearing something ridiculous you are a dead man... you hear me?"

But he didn't, he was sleeping soundly. Emma smirked to herself as she reached forward to bring his covers up over his chest but her smile faltered as she felt the heat radiating from his body.

"What the hell?" she muttered, then she thought about it "Idiot has been sleeping in a sauna all afternoon, of course he's gonna be hot and sweaty"

She tugged the covers back again and left them at his hips then walked over to the hearth and dowsed the remaining flames. Hook would probably be pissed at her for doing it but she didn't care, she was not having him sleeping in this heat. She gave him one last look before she left the cabin and smirked at his disheveled bed head, his mouth was slightly open and he was breathing heavily again.

"Sleep tight Pirate, see you in the morning"


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW... you guys really brought the reviews. THANK YOU so much, you really did make my day :)**

 **Let's find out what is going on with our Dear Captain shall we?**

The minute the door closed and Swan was a safe distance away Killian was pulling himself from his bed and practically crawling his way back to the WC. The soup and juice Swan had brought were just sitting in his stomach and he knew that they were not going to stay there much longer. He hadn't wanted another lecture so he had feigned sleep until Emma had left, she meant well but this would be so much easier without an audience.

This was the worse hangover he had ever had and he'd had many in his long long life, he was going to kill David and Robin in the morning.

Just as he reached the WC door Killian's stomach lurched and he once again found himself on his knees vomiting for what felt like the hundredth time in the last twelve hours. He coughed and choked his way through the bout and by the time his stomach finally settled he was shaking so badly he just slumped on to the floor completely spent.

Maybe it wasn't just the drink? He searched his mind to think of anything that he had eaten that might have caused this but came back with nothing and in the end he pushed the thought from his mind when he decided it was safe to try and make it back to bed.

Killian felt awful, truly awful and his mouth tasted like... gods knows what but that was awful too. He once again rummaged in the cupboard and pulled out another bottle of water. He shuffled his way back on to his bed resting against his pillows before trying to open up the bottle but his fingers were stiff and he couldn't get the lid off.

"Bloody Hell?" he snarled as he tucked the bottle under his left arm and twisted the lid again but of course when the lid came free with a resounding clack the water spurted out all over himself and the bed.

That was the last straw, the bottle was launched across the room and it slammed against the opposite wall sending the remaining water across the cabin floor. Killian just sat for a few minutes breathing heavily, maybe he should call Swan. She would come back and help him but the thought of her lecturing him of the evils of drinking too much was enough to stop him from grabbing his phone.

With a sigh Killian pulled himself from the bed again, he pulled the wet blankets and sheets off tossing them on the floor in the corner before heading to the laundry cupboard. He pulled the door open to find only one really old sheet and a couple of ancient blankets... he really needed to do laundry!

Twenty minutes later he was pulling the musty smelling blankets up under his chin too tired to even care that they would probably fall apart as he slept they were so old and worn. It was getting dark outside as he finally closed his eyes with a sigh hoping that the morning brought him better luck.

It was Henry's big day and now that he no longer had to wear that ridiculous thing that Swan had referred to as a suit he was looking forward to it even more. Killian peeked his eye open to check that his gift was still where he had left it and when his eyes fell on the small leather pouch that was still next to his safe he gave a soft smile.

He had found Liam's old bravery award in one of the chests in the hold many years ago. Liam had been awarded it just before being made Captain of the Jewel of the Realm after a successful voyage out at sea where they had faced many formidable beasts and Liam had rescued their then Captain from the Kraken.

The award was made from a solid gold commemorative coin about the size of the palm of Killian's hand and it was beautiful in every way, with intricate details engraved across both sides depicting their battles. When he had first come upon it he had thrown it back into the chest with a curse, hating the fact that bravery had been the thing that had gotten Liam killed when they were on their fools errand to Neverland but after many years he had found comfort in it and now after all these years it was time to put it to good use.

Killian had taken it to Belle and she had gotten Henry's name added to the front right underneath Liam's, she had polished it too and it looked every bit as impressive as the day Liam had received it. Killian wanted Henry to know how important he was to him, they made a good team and their relationship reminded Killian so much of his with Liam when they were both Lads. Henry's sense of humor was so familiar that sometimes it knocked the wind form Killian when he found himself suddenly thinking of his long lost Brother after something the Lad had said or done took him right back to his childhood.

Henry was such a big part of Killian's life now that he wanted him to know that he was every bit as important to him as Liam had once been so this would be perfect,or he hoped it would be perfect anyway. He just hoped Henry liked it, after all it was old and didn't have the flair of those modern gadgets that David and Mary-Margaret had purchased to present to the boy but Henry wasn't your usual Lad, he liked old things and Killian smiled again when an image of the boy's smiling face filled his mind and he knew then he was worrying for no reason, Henry would love it.

Killian turned over to lie on his back and gave another sigh as his mind still wouldn't settle.

Henry deserved this, after all if the Lad hadn't defied the odds to come to the other world to save them all Killian would still have been living under the cruel control of Blackbeard. A shudder of fear rolled through him as a forgotten memory of Deck Hand Hook being flogged by the Pirate Captain flashed through his mind. That man, the other version of himself had died a hero saving Swan and Henry even though he had been scared of life and it brought comfort to Killian to know that if his other self could become a hero there was still hope for him, maybe he could keep his happy ending after all.

Killian closed his eyes hoping that sleep would take him quickly but he wouldn't be that lucky. He hadn't thought that he could feel much worse but as he lay there trying in vain to sleep his head pounded loudly, with every movement his whole body ached and when he finally managed to doze off about an hour later it didn't last... he was back in the WC within the hour and too make things worse it would seem that his ancient blankets had a flea infestation as his eyes fell onto a group of bites that had appeared on his arm right where his brace would normally be.

"Bloody great" he griped as he clung to the wall to steady himself as his legs threatened to send him back onto the floor.

Instead of returning to his own bed he headed to the bunk room where at least he knew that he would not be eaten alive as he slept and flopped down into the nearest bunk with another sigh, he pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes giving out a silent prayer that he would feel better in the morning because at this point he didn't think he could feel much worse.

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"Hold still Kid" Emma hissed as Henry craned his neck trying to see what David was doing

"What you got there Grandpa?" the kid called out as Emma took hold of his chin to straighten him back up so she could adjust his tie.

"Just a few things that Grandma wanted me to take to Granny's, don't get too excited" David chuckled but when he looked at the clock he furrowed his brow. "Emma have you heard from Hook today? I sent him a message but he's not answered me yet"

"Nope, not really had a chance to chat. I swear if he is still nursing that hangover the pair of you are gonna be in so much trouble"

"He'll be fine by now Emma, don't be so dramatic" David replied as he grabbed the keys to his truck from the kitchen counter "I'm gonna take these things to Granny's then head over to the Jolly Roger now, he's probably just not heard his cell. Tell your Mom we'll just meet you guys there"

David was climbing the gangplank to the Jolly Roger fifteen minutes later clutching a large coffee and a bagel for the Pirate.

"HOOK" he called as he hit the lower deck and turned into the galley dumping his supplies down on the table but he never got a reply.

"HOOK... GET OUT OF BED" he called again but when he still got no answer he headed toward the Captain's cabin.

He threw the door open grinning widely thinking that the Pirate would be annoyed at being woken up but when his eyes fell on Hook's bed it was empty, what the hell?

"HOOK, WHERE ARE YOU?"

He heard a mumbled reply from down the corridor, why was he in the bunk room? David marched down the corridor and opened the door to find the Pirate pulling himself from one of the lower bunks with a wince.

"What are you doing in here?"

"An incident with a bottle of water then an unwelcome infestation of fleas had me unwilling to try and sort out my own bed at some ridiculous hour this morning so the only other option was one of these bloody things. I feel like I would have been better sleeping on the blasted floor, that bed is not comfortable"

David chuckled as he watched Hook pull himself to his feet and stretch out his back.

"Yeah, I remember only too well from our trip to Neverland. How's the head?"

Hook evaded his gaze as he stumbled past and out into the corridor walking back towards his own cabin but David still caught a glimpse of the man's features as he went by and he looked like hell.

"Still attached no thanks to you. What time is it?" The Pirate asked as he scratched absentmindedly at his hidden stump

"Nine thirty. Still plenty of time, why don't you go have a shower? It might help wake you up"

"If I had one Mate believe me I would but I will just have to settle for a wash... in cold water, it would appear that someone has extinguished my fire" Hook stopped in front of the small hearth and stared at the wet mess. David watched as he sighed then brought his hand up to the back of his neck and rolled his head a couple of times still trying to knock the kinks out of his spine.

"How much sleep did you actually get? You look like crap"

"Not nearly as much as I'd have liked" Hook replied with another sigh "Give me twenty minutes and I'll be with you"

With that Hook closed his cabin door, David could hear him moving about inside and there were a few thumps and a couple of curses before the Pirate emerged again and stumbled his way back along the corridor towards the bathroom.

"I'll just wait up on deck shall I? It's a nice day... Oh, I brought you coffee and breakfast, it's in the galley, make sure you eat it will help you feel better" David called but Hook never spoke he just raised his hand and gave a slight wave as he walked away.

Half an hour later David was sitting in the sunshine on deck but Hook had still not appeared, David was starting to worry that they were going to be late. What the hell was he doing? Deciding that he couldn't wait any longer he descended back down to the lower deck and knocked on Hook's cabin door.

"It's open" Hook's muffled voice came from behind the heavy wood.

David pushed the door open to find Hook standing leaning on the table wearing a pair of dark slacks, boots and a plain white shirt but as David walked forward he realized that the shirt was still not buttoned.

"What's the hold up?"

Hook sighed and stood himself up to turn towards David.

"This is your fault you know. My bloody head is still thumping, I must have slept awkwardly too because I can't get my buttons done, my whole bloody arm aches my fingers won't work properly"

David burst out laughing as he stepped forward to do up the buttons "Call yourself a Pirate, you've been out of the drinking game for far too long"

"Aye, very amusing I'm sure" Hook grumbled

David made quick work of the buttons leaving the top three undone in Hook's usual style but the Pirate shook his head.

"Just leave the top one, I need to put that bloody thing on" Hook said pointing his head towards the chair where a jacket and tie were hung.

"I thought you weren't going to wear this?" David asked curiously as he fastened the last two buttons before reaching for the tie.

"I wasn't but I had a slight accident with my other option and Emma specifically said no leather so I don't have much choice"

David was really confused now, he looked around the room to finally see what looked distinctly like a variation on Navy Whites lying in a heap on top of a pile of bedding in the corner of the room.

"What happened?" David asked with another chuckle

"Remember that coffee you brought?"

"You didn't?"

"Aye, right down my front... Swan was going to love me in that too, now I'm just going to look like every other idiot in a suit"

David was just about to put the tie on the Pirate when he had a sudden thought. He threw the tie back down and undid the two buttons he had just done up then marched over to Hooks closet and peered inside.

"What are you doing?" Hook asked in a tired voice

"Making you stand out from the crowd, can't have you looking like every other idiot now can we?"

David grinned to himself when he found what he was looking for, Hook's red crushed velvet vest. He pulled it out and walked back over to the Pirate with a grin.

"Here, put this on under the jacket and you'll be fine. Modern with a twist of classic"

Hook didn't argue he just let David dress him. David looked at him as the Pirate tipped his head back and closed his eyes with a groan.

"You OK?" he narrowed his eyes and really looked at Hook, he didn't look well.

"I'll be fine but I think I might be getting a cold or something I just can't seem to wake myself up. Are you done? I don't want to miss the ceremony"

"Any excuse huh? The old "I've got a cold coming on" routine... I'll believe you, thousands wouldn't" David said with another chuckle when would this man just admit he couldn't handle a good night out in Storybrooke?

David fastened the last button on the vest then held up the dark jacket for Hook to slip into when he suddenly realized that he didn't have his hook in place either, what had the man been doing all this time?

"Where's your hook? We don't have much time"

"Forget it, I can't put it on anyway"

"What? Why?"

Hook sighed again then pointed to the bed.

"After I spilt the water all over myself last night I changed the bedding but I will admit that with all that has been going on it has been a while since I have any time to do any laundry and the only blankets I had to put on seems to have had a flea infestation, blasted rats must have been in my cupboards. Every blasted flea seems to have chosen to feast upon me like it was their last night alive which it will be once I have dealt with them. So to cut a long story short I have bites where my brace attaches that are already bloody itchy enough without putting that thing on top of them and quite frankly I don't have the patience to mess about with it right now"

David frowned, was the Pirate just being over dramatic or was he really not feeling well? Hook brought his hand up and dragged it over his face sighing again then he trudged his way across to the unit in the corner of the room to pick something up before slipping whatever it was in his pocket and turning back to David.

"Can we get this over with now, I am in no fit state for this but this is important to both Henry and Emma so I will just need to suffer in silence"

"Yeah, might be a good idea. Emma will kill both of us if she thinks you're still suffering"

David thought back to Emma's earlier words of warning, he needed to make sure that Hook was as presentable as possible

"When was the last time you had any Tylenol?"

"Last night" Hook replied

David nodded then looked around the room to find the white bottle by the bed. He grabbed it then looked around for something for Hook to wash them down with.

"In the small cupboard" Hook muttered and seconds later David pulled out a fresh bottle of water, he took the cap off the bottle of pills and knocked two out into Hook's waiting hand and watched as the Pirate palmed them into his mouth then held out his hand for the water. Hook winced badly as he swallowed down the pills but just as David was going to ask again if he was alright Hook shook his head vigorously and stamped his feet a few times before looking back at David with a smile on his face.

"All better. Can we go now? I do not wish to be late" he raised his eyebrows in question

"OK, I think you'll do. Just don't groan or moan too much"

"I'll try to contain myself" Hook mumbled and he clapped his hand on David's arm in a friendly gesture as he went by "Come on, we have a hero to honor"


	3. Chapter 3

**Glad you guys are enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.**

 **As always please continue to review.**

 **Special shout out to skydoe16 who created an account just to review my fic, THANK YOU SO MUCH, you made me smile :D**

Killian held back the groan threatening to escape his lips as he pulled himself from David's truck with a wince but when he looked up to see Henry running towards him with a huge grin on his face and Swan following behind him at a much slower pace he forced a smile onto his face.

"Killian, you look... different" Henry said as he came to a stop by David's side.

"Aye Lad, thought I'd make a bit of an effort for you" he replied with a smirk but he pulled his left arm behind his back so the Lad couldn't see it. He knew no one would care but he felt self conscious that his hook was missing and didn't really want to face the barrage of questions that surely would come if anyone noticed. His arm was itchy beyond belief and he hadn't had a chance to ask if there was some non magical remedy that he could purchase to help with it after he had over slept but he knew one thing for sure, if he didn't get something soon he was going to have no skin left.

Emma approached and gave him a warm smile before lifting a brow at him "You feeling better?

"Aye Love, thank you" he replied quickly then lent in and pecked her cheek consciously not kissing her mouth, he really did think he was coming down with something and didn't want to pass it on.

"Good" she said with a grin "Come on" she held out her hand and he took it so she could lead him inside where he was glad to see many rows of chairs set out. He sighed in relief, he'd be able to sit down without drawing attention to himself. His legs felt very wobbly but as he tried to walk over to the waiting chairs Swan tugged him in a different direction.

"We're over here" she pointed to an area slightly to one side but right at the front "Henry, you sit at the end nearest the stage."

Henry beamed widely as he sat down, Killian had hoped that he could sit in the seat furthest away from the stage, it was close to the wall and he could have used it to rest against but Henry looked up at him with such a happy look as he tapped the seat by him obviously wanting Killian to sit next to him that he couldn't refuse the lad. He just smiled and sat himself down and listened as Henry excitedly chattered by his side.

"You OK?" Emma asked softly "You seem a bit quiet"

"Sorry Love, didn't sleep too well" was all he gave in way of an answer but it seemed to be the wrong thing to say and Emma's concern left her face.

"Yeah well if you hadn't had to sleep most of the day away that wouldn't have happened would it?" Emma's tone was cool and something about it made Killian snap.

"Yes I am fully aware that I am an idiot that drank too much, you have pointed it out several times already but bloody hell Swan can we move past it, I apologized already. I did not set out to get drunk but it happened and I am sorry."

Emma looked shocked as she sat blinking at his outburst but she quickly leant in and hissed at him.

"You don't get to be annoyed Hook, you were the one that left me sitting in the loft waiting for you to come home. I had cooked you a romantic meal and I'd arranged for Henry to be with Regina and Mary-Margaret was with Belle so that we could get some alone time but you left me there all by myself. Then to make things worse you were no use to anyone yesterday, I had to cover your work load as well as my own but do you care? No, From what I can see you are still just feeling sorry for yourself."

"I'm sorry Love..." he tried to apologize but it would seem that she was in no mood to listen

"Don't" was all she said as she crossed her arms and lent back on her chair to stare up at the stage. Hook looked to Henry who cringed and shrugged his shoulders at him before he looked back at the stage himself and gave Regina a wave as she stood off to one side. Killian needed to explain himself, he couldn't leave it like this but just as he shifted in his seat to face Emma Regina walked to the middle of the stage and everyone clapped stopping him in his tracks.

The ceremony seemed to last forever. The room they were sitting in was far too hot for Killian's liking making his headache come back with vengeance and to make things worse he seemed to have more bites across his back that itched terribly. He tried to scratch them against the back of the chair but Emma threw him a dangerous look that had him instantly stopping what he was doing.

Gods, why was the world against him?

He tried to concentrate on what was going on up on the stage as he fidgeted about trying to cool himself down and alleviate the itch that seemed to be growing by the minute but Emma jabbed him in the ribs and hissed at him in a hushed tone.

"Would you sit still, you are worse than a kid. What is wrong with you?"

He just gave a tight smile and tried to focus on the ceremony but a few minutes later he knew Swan was going to hate him as his stomach rolled dangerously. He tried to ignore it but it wouldn't go away, he needed to find a bathroom quickly otherwise this was going to get embarrassing for everyone.

"Swan" He whispered leaning towards her slightly, she turned with a look of anger on her face and mouthed "What?"

"Where is the washroom?" he whispered quietly

"What? Are you serious? Can you not hold it?" she raised her eyebrows high on her head.

"Sorry Love" he managed to get out before clamping his mouth shut, he needed to go now.

"Back in the vestibule." Emma hissed "You are really out to impress me today aren't you?"

He couldn't answer, he just jumped up and practically ran from the room keeping low so that he wasn't impeding anyone's view of the stage and just as he was pushing through the door he heard Blue calling Henry's name to go up to collect his award, there was nothing he could do about that now though as he quickly barged through the washroom door and into the nearest cubicle just in time to bring the bagel that he had managed to eat earlier back up.

By the time he was finished and had washed the sweat from his face fifteen minutes had passed and when he pushed the door back open it was to find everyone milling outside again, damn it... he had missed the whole thing. He trudged back into the main room but everyone was gone, he hadn't even had a chance to give Henry Liam's medal.

Killian turned back towards the main entrance and made his way outside wincing as the bright sun hurt his head. His whole body ached from top to toe and all his muscles felt too tight. All his joints ached too and he groaned inwardly when he caught his toe on something and stumbled a few steps but worse than all of that put together was the fact that he itched all over, blasted blankets.

The only thing he wanted to do was to crawl back into bed but he knew he couldn't, not right now. He had to find Swan and make this right so he started the short journey to Granny's on foot hoping that she would be in the mood to listen.

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Emma was so mad, how could Hook do this? He had missed Henry getting his award! She was standing outside the front of Granny's with Henry and her parents.

"Mom, do you want me to go and find Killian?" Henry asked hopefully

"No Henry, he knows where we are I'm sure he can manage to walk over by himself." Henry's face fell as he craned his neck to see if Hook was anywhere near by and yet again she felt anger, how could Hook do this to him?

"Hey, it's OK Kid. I'm sure he'll be here soon. Why don't you go in and grab a booth before they all fill up?" David ruffled Henry's hair as he spoke and her Son ducked out from under her Dad's hand before giving a small nod then running up the steps.

"What the hell is going on with Hook?" Emma practically yelled as the door closed and she turned on her Dad.

"I don't know Emma... I swear. I think he had a rough night but that is no excuse for what he just did. I'm going to go get him now and find out what he's playing at. I'm just as annoyed as you are, I'll put up with a lot from that Pirate but he's not messing Henry about."

Emma just sighed as her Dad walked away but her Mom was the eternal optimist as usual.

"I'm sure there is a good reason Emma" she said with a slight shrug

"Are you? 'Cause right now all I know is that he missed a really important part of Henry's life" her anger left her as she thought about what had happened leaving only hurt "I just don't understand why he did it Mom. I thought Henry was important to him. Was I wrong?"

"No Emma, he loves Henry and you know it" Mary-Margaret looked shocked at Emma's question but nothing made sense anymore.

"Yeah well I thought I did" Emma gave another sigh, she had thought that she knew him so well, how could she have been so wrong? "Anyway, let's get this party started. If Hook can be bothered to show up he can join us but he can be the one to explain to Henry where the hell he was. I'm not covering for him, not this time"

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David walked quickly back towards the town hall, what was Hook thinking? He was ready to have it was out with the Pirate but as he turned the corner it was to see the man in question on his knees leaning against a low wall puking his guts up and David realized in that split second that Hook really wasn't well and his anger fizzled out. Of course that had to be it, Hook would never have hurt Henry on purpose, how could he have thought that?

"You idiot" David called as he ran across "Why didn't you tell me you were ill?"

"I believe I did" Hook gasped once his stomach settled

"No, you said you thought you had a cold coming on THIS is not a cold Hook, how many times have you been sick?"

"More than enough to make it unpleasant" Hook replied curling his lips and spitting to try to clear his mouth

"You really are an idiot, you should be in bed. Emma and Henry would have understood"

David reached down and took hold of the Pirate's arm to help him back to his feet where he swayed dramatically for a few seconds until he managed to steady himself and David's concern only grew when he got a good look at Hook's face. He was very pale except for two bright red spots on his cheeks and he was sweating heavily making his hair stick to his forehead. Hook held on to David's arm leaning against him slightly and took in a few deep breaths before trying to head off towards the diner again.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" David said gripping his arm tighter to stop him

"I need to talk to Emma and I need to apologize to Henry for..." but the Pirate groaned and he never got to finish what he was trying to say as he lurched forward again gulping in big breaths of air but it was no use and David was left practically holding him up when his stomach tried to purge itself yet again.

David stood for a few minutes just holding onto the other man until Hook was practically hanging in his arms clearly ready to fall to the ground again if it wasn't for David's iron clad grip on him.

"The only place you are going is back to bed" David said with a grimace as he brought Hook's arm around his shoulder and started to turn him back towards the Jolly Roger.

"Mate... stop... my bed is infested with fleas... I'd rather not" the Pirate looked and sounded terrible as he hung heavily against David's side breathing harshly, this was definitive not a cold.

"Fine but you are not going to the party. I'll get you a room at Granny's. We'll head in the back way so we don't disturb everyone and once you are feeling better THEN you can speak to Emma and Henry. They'll understand Hook, you're not well, it's not your fault" he said as hoisted the Pirate up further

Hook seemed to be losing strength fast as his boots kept catching on the ground and making him stumble, yes, he definitely wasn't well and he definitely needed sleep. David pulled out his cell and dialed Granny's hoping that there was a room free that he could get to quickly.

"Granny it's David. I need a favor, I know you're busy but this is kind of an emergency. I need a room for Hook, preferably one with not too many steps to get too, I think he's got stomach flu or something and there's a problem with his ship"

Granny agreed to help and a few minutes later she was helping David half carry the Pirate into one of the lower rooms. They dropped Hook down onto the bed where the Pirate just lay breathing heavily with his eyes shut. David stepped forward and tapped him on the cheek try to bring him round knowing that he needed to drink something before he slept.

"Come on, we'll get you into bed then you need to drink some more water, I'm pretty sure you don't want to get dehydrated along with everything else"

David pulled off the Pirate's boots and let them fall onto the floor with a clatter before starting to undo his belt to pull off his slacks too.

"I'll go grab some water will I? Leave you to get him under the covers" Granny called as she hurried from the room making David smirk to himself, who knew that she would be so prudish?

David pulled Hook's pants off and threw them on a nearby chair before wrestling him out of the suit jacket and adding that to the chair too and by the time he had removed his vest Hook was in no fit state for anymore so he just left his shirt in place. A few minutes later as he was trying to move the Pirate further up the bed to get him under the covers he gave a chuckle at the mass of flea bites on Hook's legs, only he could use a flea ridden blanket when he was already ill.

"They must itch like hell?" he chuckled as he manhandled the Pirate once more.

"You have no idea" Hook slurred in reply with a sigh as he finally lay back on the pillows and David brought the comforter over his front.

Granny came back in a few minutes later with the glass of water, some flu remedies and a red plastic bucket, yeah probably a wise idea from what he's just witnessed.

"These any use to you?" She asked holding up the medication "Ruby left them in her room, they're a few months old now but should still be good."

"They're great, Thanks"

David took the packets and got a dose of the best one ready, he turned back to Hook who seemed to be sleeping already and gave him a shake to bring him back round.

"Come on Pirate, you need to take this and drink some water. Don't worry I'll explain to Emma what happened, I'm sure she'll come through and see you herself in a while"

Hook swallowed down the medication with a slight cough and he brought his hand up to clutch at his chest.

"Tight" was all he said as he let his eyes slide shut again.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure you have flu... you're gonna feel rough for a while"

Hook gave another couple of coughs as he drank the water and by the time he had finished half the bottle he was breathing heavily again and shaking his head.

"No more" he turned his head to the side to show that he was done. The Pirate looked exhausted so David didn't argue and in all honesty he'd probably just puke it up again anyway.

"OK, I'll be back soon to check on you. There is a bucket by the bed if you need it" David said in a quiet voice not even sure if the Pirate was awake anymore to hear him but Hook hummed in response making David smile softly, why was nothing ever simple with this man? Of all the days to get sick he had to pick today... Emma was going to find this hard to believe.

 **Two minutes later**

"I don't believe you, is that what he told you to say?" Emma barked out as she walked away towards the counter.

"It's true Emma, I wouldn't lie about this... ask Granny she saw him too" David called chasing after her just as Granny came through from the kitchen in time to give him back up. Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him then turned to the woman in question.

"Is it true? Is Hook really in the back ill?"

"Sure is, looks like crap too" Granny grit out as she squeezed past with two plates of food in her hands "Gonna be out of action for a few days I'd say"

"God..." Emma cringed turning back to face him "He was really ill? Not just hungover? How did I not notice?"

"Hey don't be too hard on yourself I thought he was laying it on thick too in fact I don't even think he thought he was ill until about twenty minutes ago... now he definitely knows!" David soothed

"I need to go and check on him?" Emma suddenly said trying to get past David but he grabbed her arm to stop her in her tracks

"Leave him, he's only just gone to sleep and believe me when I say that he needs it. I got him to drink some water and take some meds so he should be fine for a few hours."

"Fine" she sighed "But I want to be the one to check on him. It's twelve thirty now, I'll give him until two thirty then I'm going through there but in the mean time I'm going to make sure Henry is having a good time and that his day doesn't turn into a complete disaster"

With that she made her way back across the busy room to sit down next to her son while David sat heavily on one of the stools at the counter, after the morning he'd just had he needed a drink!

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Killian woke with a wince, his head was pounding, his chest felt tight and he wheezed every time he tried to take in a breath but worst of all his joints ached terribly causing him to moan as he moved. He knew he was going to be sick again but when he opened his eyes he was confused to find himself in a room he didn't recognize. How had he gotten here? He vaguely remembered David speaking to him but that didn't explain how he had gotten in this room, had Granny been there too?

Through all of his confusion it didn't change the fact that he needed to find a washroom quickly, he pulled himself from the bed that he was lying in and stumbled his way across the floor stopping to lean on a table in the center of the room as this head spun, he couldn't seem to find his balance as he listed to one side. He steadied himself for a second before starting off again but he only managed to get as far as the door when his stomach clenched and he found himself on his knees being sick on to the horribly patterned carpet.

Wave after wave hit him and he just couldn't think, he couldn't do anything as his world spun and he toppled to the side. He landed with a thump as his back hit the door but he still couldn't move as his stomach still continued to try and empty itself of it's meager contents.

Finally after many minutes Killian was left panting into the carpet, he wanted to move, he wanted to get back to the bed but he couldn't... he couldn't do anything other than lie there as his world dipped out of focus and he slipped into unconsciousness completely oblivious to the many people having a good time in the diner less than twenty feet away from where he currently lay.


	4. Chapter 4

**So a bit of a mixed bag of reviews. A lot of you think that Emma is acting how she would in this position while others think she is being... well... not very nice shall we say. This chapter may help clear up why she is acting how she is.**

 **Enjoy :)**

Robin gave David a worried look as he sidled up to his side as David once again stood waiting for a drink but this time it was only soda and he was getting for the whole family too.

"I hear Hook was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday and we may or may not have been responsible for him suffering the wrath of your ever so irate Daughter for his troubles"

"Yeah she was a bit annoyed but she was maybe a bit harsh on him, turns out it wasn't just the hangover that had him acting the way he was. I found him puking his guts up about an hour ago, pretty sure he has stomach flu or something, he's in the back sleeping."

"Really?" Robin asked looking around David's shoulder as if he'd be able to see Hook from where they stood.

"Yeah, hopefully it will only last a couple of days, I just hope I've not caught it. The last thing I need is to get what he's got. You want a drink?"

"I better not, I can't stay I need to get back to Roland soon" Robin gave a sigh and lent against the bar

"Where is he?" David asked, it wasn't like Roland to miss a party!

"He's still getting over the Chickenpox. I left him with Ashley, her little girl has them too so there was no worry of Roland passing them on. He was quite distressed that he couldn't come today because he feels fine but he is still contagious so it wasn't worth the risk to baby Neal."

Robin turned with a smile towards Mary-Margaret who was sitting chatting with Emma and Henry back at the booth.

"Probably a good idea" David agreed before adding "Thanks for coming, it means a lot to Henry"

"My pleasure Mate. Henry's a good Lad, I wouldn't have missed it." Robin said with a nod of his head before walking away leaving David to grab the drinks and head back over to the table to find Whale hanging around Mary-Margaret like a bad smell.

"Whale" David greeted as he placed the tray down, he looked up and gave the Doctor a fake smile knowing that Mary-Margaret would give him a hard time if he wasn't nice to the creep "Do you want a drink?"

"No thanks, I need to get back to it, I only came in to grab some take out. I've got yet another house call. This chickenpox outbreak is getting out of hand, I'm just glad that I came across with the first curse and got Regina's built in resistance, I do not need to be covered in those horrible spots" he shuddered and unconsciously scratched his arm at the thought.

David slid into the booth next to Henry and looked at the doctor as a thought suddenly hit him, maybe Hook didn't have flu after all but David had never had chickenpox either and he was a bit vague on the symptoms.

"What are the symptoms of Chicken Pox? You know so we can look out for them with the baby" he asked casually.

"Usually a mild fever, red spots that form into fluid filled blisters then dry out, they can be very itchy but other than that nothing too serious. The child usually feels ill for a few days but they get over it quite quickly"

OK, maybe not. David took a sip of his drink and sat back. He was just about to speak again, now that he had his answer he was keen to get the Doctor to leave as soon as possible but Whale carried on talking cutting him off.

"Just be grateful that you can't get it"

"Why? From what you just said it's no big deal" David scoffed and looked at Emma with a smirk

"It can be much more serious in adults Dad" Emma said raising an eyebrow at him as if he had just cursed in front of a small child

"How much more serious?" David asked putting his drink down on the table and looking back to Whale as a bubble of worry gathered in his gut

"Usually they just feel like they have flu but sometimes it can cause serious complications, the patient can go down hill quickly and may very well need hospitalization but don't worry you're safe, you came over with the first curse too"

David's heart was thumping in his chest as the reality hit him. Could Hook have chickenpox? He didn't come over with the curse, he arrived after with Cora. Maybe he was just being stupid but what if he wasn't, the Pirate could be really sick and that was enough to have David really worried.

"Dammit... Whale you need to come with me." David cried as he jumped up from the table unwilling to risk being wrong, he'd rather be wrong and Hook get help than the alternative.

"What? Why?" Whale gave a confused look

"Hook... I think Hook has Chicken Pox, he's through here" David started towards the back of the diner, he turned to see Whale hurrying behind him and Emma struggling to get past Mary-Margaret to follow.

"What have his symptoms been?" Whale shouted as they ran

"He's been sick a few times, headache and he's covered in spots... he thought they were bites" David called back

"Seems like normal symptoms, anything else? Has he had stiff joints, a sore neck maybe?"

An image of Hook rolling his head then his voice echoed in David's head saying that he had slept awkwardly and he couldn't do his buttons.

"Yes to both. Is that bad?"

Whale gave him a worried look "Well, it's not good. Let me see him first before we panic"

David hit the door at a run but came to an abrupt halt when it wouldn't open, there was something stopping it. He shoved it again giving Whale a worried look when they both realized what was going on , Hook was lying on the other side and was so close David couldn't push the door any further than a few centimeters. He tried to peek inside and could just make out the Pirate's dark hair through the gap.

"He's at the back of the door" David grit out just as Emma arrived but he paid her no attention he just yelled through the gap in the door "HOOK, OPEN THE DOOR"

"What's going on?" Emma asked with a desperate look on her face

"I think Hook's lying at the back of the door. Stay here and talk to him, see if you can bring him round. I'm going to see if I can get in the window from outside"

With that David just ran, his heart was pounding in his chest as he silently berated himself for leaving the Pirate alone. Hook had been ill and he had laughed at him... he knew he didn't have time for this now, there would be plenty of time for guilt later so David just ran.

He was in the back alley within seconds and looking up at the windows trying to figure out where Hook's room was. Finding the one he needed he moved quickly to shove the dumpster underneath it and clambered up. He peered inside and his heart sank, even though he had been sure that it was Hook blocking the door the sight of him lying there nearly took his breath away.

"No no no..." he grit out before trying to pull the window open but it was on a latch and it wouldn't open. He growled to himself before pulling out his gun and slamming the butt through the pane of glass.

"Sorry Granny but the department will have to pay you back" he muttered as he knocked the loose bits of glass away.

Seconds later he was pulling himself through the small gap and rushing across the room to drop down next to the Pirate giving him a shake

"HOOK, wake up"

But the Pirate didn't wake, his eyes stayed firmly closed. The heat radiating off the man was unbelievable as David took hold of him to try and move him out of the way so Whale could get into the room.

"David? Is he OK?" Whale shouted from the other side of the door.

"No... hang on, I'm just moving him" David yelled as he managed to get Hook under the arms and pulled with all his might, he carefully laid the Pirate down a few feet back and dropped back down by his side as Whale and Emma burst through the door.

"Miss Swan, can you call an ambulance right away?" Whale called out even before he had reached David's side.

David watched as Whale placed his hand on Hook's forehead.

"He's far too hot, I need some ice NOW"

David was about to jump up but Granny's voice shouting that she would bring some caught him by surprise and when he looked up it was to see what looked like half the diner standing at the door.

He didn't have time to worry about them now, he needed to help the Doctor but he had no clue what to do

"Is it bad?" he asked not really wanting to know the answer

"I don't really know yet, I don't even have my bag with me but it doesn't look good David. How long has he been like this?" Whale asked pulling back Hook's eyelids and shaking his head

"He wasn't like this before, I mean he was sick and he was tired but I thought he had flu so I gave him flu meds and made him drink some water and he fell asleep so I left him... I didn't know it was this bad, if I had I would have called you" David felt terrible, how could he have left Hook alone to collapse behind the door?

"Hey, it's not your fault" Whale said kindly as he carried on working "This thing can come on suddenly, you weren't to know"

"The ambulance is on it's way" Emma threw in as she to came down on the floor next to Hook "How's he doing?"

"He'll be better when I get that ice" Whale grit out just as Granny barged into the room, she put an ice bucket down on the floor before turning back to the people at the door

"There is nothing that you people can do here so I suggest you leave but one of you could go outside and bring in the EMTs when they get here if you really want to help" and with that she shut the door and turned back to them on the floor "bunch of gaupers"

"Someone grab me those pillow cases" Whale grit out pointing to the bed and David was moving in seconds. He striped the cases off the pillows and threw each in turn to the Doc who tipped some ice in to each one before tying off the end and placing one at the back of Hook's neck and the other on his stomach eliciting a groan from the Pirate.

"Hook" Whale placed his closed fist firmly into the center of the Pirate's chest and dug his knuckles in trying to rouse him "Come on Pirate, open your eyes"

Hook's eyelids fluttered open for a second but they didn't stay that way, he didn't even seem like he was really aware of what was going on around him.

Emma had taken Hook's hand in hers and she squeezed it tightly as she knelt by his side but she had to let go seconds later as the EMTs arrived and she was asked to give them space. They both stood back and watched as Hook was swamped with medical equipment and Whale worked furiously barking out orders.

"We need to get him to the hospital ASAP." Whale said looking up at David "His blood pressure is dropping and his breathing is labored, this is not good"

With that the EMTs loaded Hook onto a gurney and he was whisked from the room leaving David and Emma standing slack jawed staring after them but Emma was not going to be left behind, she barged past David and took off after her Pirate leaving David to try and explain to everyone what had just happened.

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Emma tried to stay out of the way as Whale and one of the EMTs carried on working on Hook as they whizzed towards the hospital but there really wasn't a lot of space.

"Sorry" she cringed as Whale stretched around her to grab something just as they hit a bump in the road and he ended up falling to the side to avoid falling in her lap.

"It's alright. Can you pass me those scissors behind you? Save me the embarrassment of falling on you again" he asked quickly pointing the the small equipment tray behind her without making eye contact.

She passed them over and watched as Whale sliced through the sleeves of Hook's already open shirt, he pulled all the bits from his body and threw them to the side to reveal a mass of angry red spots all across his skin.

"Woah... that's a lot of spots" she gasped as Whale pulled on a pair of medical gloves before breaking an ice pack and settling it on the middle of Hook's chest.

"Yeah, he seems to have quite a bad case here... I just hope there is nothing else going on"

"Like what? I mean I've heard it can be serious in adults but I've never really read up on what can actually happen, I never needed to I had them as a kid"

Whale talked as he worked and she was shocked to see him pull an oxygen mask over Hook's face and tighten the elastic to hold it in place.

"I'd rather not speculate Miss Swan but right now he's having difficulty breathing. That in itself is the most common side effect to cause issues in adults. His blood pressure is also really low which is a little more unusual but until I get him to the hospital and do some further tests I won't know the reason for that I'm afraid. We'll start him on anti-viral drugs and a broad spectrum antibiotic as soon as we get in and I just hope that we've caught this quickly, the quicker the treatment starts the better his chances"

"You think he's going to be alright?" Emma asked hopefully

"I wish I knew" he replied looking up to meet her gaze just as the ambulance slowed to a stop.

The doors were thrown open and Hook was pulled out, they were moving through the sliding door into the ER before Emma knew it and a few minutes later Hook was pushed into the treatment room where everything seemed to happen at once.

"I want Acyclovir ready in two minutes and I also want an IV with VZIG set up, come on people time is not on our side" Whale called out to the head nurse as he shone a light into Hook's eyes checking his pupil response. "Can someone set up an MRI scan and a lumber puncture? He's showing signs of encephalitis, pupil response is too slow... pressure's dropping."

"Whale what's going on?" Emma was really worried now, all these letters and big words were making her head spin

"Miss Swan I'm afraid this might be serious. He is showing signs of a rare complication called encephalitis. To cut a long story short if I'm right he has swelling on his brain but I need to do an MRI scan and another test to assess the situation. Look I don't have time to discuss this with you right now just know that I am doing everything in my power to help him but I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside. He is very sick right now and time is of the essence"

Emma was about to protest, she didn't want to leave Hook here by himself but right then one of the many machines started sending out an alarm and Whale practically shoved her into the corridor. She could hear him barking out orders as she stood staring at the still swinging door with her mouth open and the words that she heard would haunt her forever more.

"He's seizing... someone grab his legs"

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David hurried through the doors half an hour later, it had taken him some time to explain everything to Mary-Margaret then even longer to convince her to go home with Henry instead of coming to the hospital. She had eventually agreed after he pointed out that the hospital was not the best place for Neal to be if there was any chance that he could be exposed to the virus. Now he was by himself looking for Emma to find out what was happening with Hook.

He didn't even know where to start looking so he just headed to the main waiting room to see if she was there and when his eyes fell on her he knew he had guessed right. She was pacing back and forth over by the window while chewing her thumb nail nervously.

"Emma?" he called out hurrying over "What's happening?"

"Dad" she cried and launched herself into his arms hugging him tightly before pulling back to look at him. "I have no idea what the hell is going on, Whale was spouting out a load of words that I've never heard before... the only thing I did understand was when he said that Hook had swelling on his brain. How can that be right?"

"I don't know" David sighed and pulled her back into his arms "Where's Hook now?"

"They just took him down for tests... Dad he had a seizure." she pulled herself out of David's arms and walked away to stare out the window "How can this be happening? How did I not see that he was ill? God, I was so busy being pissed at him that I never even noticed that he needed me"

David walked up to her side to see tears falling down her face and he sighed looking out the window too.

"Emma this isn't your fault" he said staring out at nothing.

"You don't understand Dad" Emma said with a heavy sigh "When we were in that other reality and you know, he died..."

"You mean when I killed him" David grit out, he didn't need reminding of that, it would stay with him until his dying day.

"That's not what this is about, you weren't you and I don't blame you for what happened but I lost him anyway and I didn't know if I could get him back and in that minute I realized that... I realized that I... that I had never..." she swallowed hard and suddenly David understood.

"You've never told him you love him have you?"

Emma just shook her head and looked at him with watery eyes.

"I promised myself right then that if we made it back and he was OK I would tell him as soon as I saw him but when that moment came I did what I always do... I chickened out. That's what the other night was about, that's why I was so pissed yesterday. I had everything arranged, we were going to have a romantic night in and I was finally going to tell him how I felt but he never came home like he said he would. I know he didn't know what I had planned and yes I was annoyed at him but I was more annoyed at myself for not just doing it when I'd first got back but as always I vented... I took it out on him like I always do."

The tears were flowing down Emma's face now and David stepped forward and pulled her back into another hug.

"Hey, it's OK" he soothed rubbing her back

"Is it? What if I don't get the chance to tell him? What if I lose him? He'll never now how I feel" he could feel her clutching his jacket tightly as she sobbed against his front and all David wanted to do was take away her pain.

"If there is one thing I know in life is that Hook knows how much you love him. You might not have said the actual words but he knows"

"But I never noticed that he was ill Dad, he needed me and I let him down"

"This isn't your fault... and when he gets better, well when he gets better we can set up another romantic evening so you can make it up to him"

Emma just nodded against his chest as they stood just holding each other for a good few minutes but eventually she pulled back and moved to drop down into one of the chairs near by.

"Did Whale say how long they were going to be?" David asked nervously looking at the clock on the wall.

"Nope" Emma popped the "p" at the end of her reply as she tipped her head back to look at the ceiling with another sigh.

That was the last thing that was said between them, they just sat in silence keeping an eye on the ever increasing darkness outside but eventually about seven pm Whale came to find them. He sat down with a sigh and gave David a sincere look before moving his gaze to Emma, this wasn't good, David could feel it.

"Hook's tests have confirmed what I suspected, he has encephalitis which can be a rare side effect of the chickenpox virus. As I explained earlier Miss Swan this is a swelling in the brain but at this stage I have no idea what, if any long term effects this will have on him."

"What are you saying?" David asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow "Are you saying he could have brain damage from this?"

"Perhaps but I will emphasize the fact that we don't know that for sure. He may be absolutely fine but there is every chance that he may not be too, we will just have to wait and see" Whale sighed heavily before carrying on "To complicate matters further he was still struggling to breathe and we have had to intubate him which means his breathing is currently being done for him by a ventilator, it's doing all the hard work for him so he doesn't have to. I have also induced a coma to give his body the best chance to heal. Hopefully we shouldn't have to leave him like that too long, maybe just a few days but I will monitor him on a daily basis and keep you updated. I have already started him on anti-virals and antibiotics which I'm hoping will work quickly but again only time will tell."

David just sat blinking in shock, Hook could have brain damage, what the hell? But it would seem that Emma was slightly more together than he was as she spoke to Whale in a quiet voice.

"When can we see him?"

"Soon, he's being settled into ICU at the minute. I'll get someone to come for you once I've had time to check on him. I'll give you half an hour then I'm afraid you will have to head home"

"What? No. I want to stay with him" Emma cried out standing up quickly but Whale stood too and held up a hand.

"I'm sorry but that is just simply out of the question at the minute. Maybe once he's stable and awake we can think about it but right now he is too sick. I need to have him monitored around the clock so that if his status changes we can act quickly. Miss Swan the next 48 hours are critical, IF we can get him through those talk to me again and I'll sort something out but until then NO ONE is staying past visiting time"

With that Whale gave a slight nod of his head and left them to the silence once more... there was nothing to say, nothing that could make this better so they didn't try.


	5. Chapter 5

**For those of you concerned that this fic has found us at the hospital once again and that it's getting repetitive unfortunately with the things I do to our poor Pirate he has to be in there for at least a wee while and there are only so many ways I can write that but don't worry he won't be in there too long... with a little but of luck.**

 **Any hoo... let's carry on shall we?**

The lump in Emma's throat just wouldn't leave as she stood staring at Hook lying in the bed, he was absolutely covered in spots, nearly every part of his exposed skin was bright red and as she looked at his face she could even see them on his eyelids and all around his mouth too. Emma couldn't believe it, he just looked terrible there was no other word to describe him.

The stark contrast from the last time that she'd been by his hospital bedside made her throat close when she thought about how even though he had just been beaten by Gold then hit by a car he had still managed to escape from a set of handcuffs to make a fuss over a bowl of jello... what she wouldn't do to have him complaining about the food now.

The mechanical "Kush-Kush" of the ventilator was drilling in to her head and she didn't know how much more she could take, she had fought tooth and nail to get here but now that she could see just how bad Hook was her instinct was to run... she just didn't want to have to face any of this.

Her chest hitched as a sob left her mouth and the tears were suddenly flowing freely down her face. She hugged herself tightly as she was suddenly wracked with guilt again, how could she have not seen he needed her? She had felt how hot he was the night before but she had dismissed it as him just being stupid for having the fire burning when it wasn't even that cold... but he had been cold... yet another clue that he was ill that she had just dismissed.

"Hey, it's OK. Come here" her Dad pulled her into his arms again and she went with no resistance, she just sobbed against his front as he held her, rubbing his hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.

"Tell me he'll be alright, promise me. I need him to be OK" she whispered against her Father's chest but he didn't answer and in her heart she knew that it was an unfair thing she was asking of him, no one knew what the future held, he couldn't promise her anything.

They stood just watching the Pirate's chest rising and falling for what seemed like forever, it seemed like time was just standing still but eventually Whale came back into the room and told them it was time to leave.

An hour later Emma was crawling into bed by herself, she cried silently into her pillow as she listened to her Dad explaining everything to her Mom in the room down below. She just wanted a portal to open and take her to a far off land where she could find some great disaster that needed sorting but with that thought her mind was wandering back to Hook... who was she kidding? She couldn't do this whole savior thing without him, not anymore. He had become her rock, he kept her grounded and told her when she was being stupid and now he was lying by himself in a hospital room not able to say anything.

She couldn't do this, she couldn't leave him there by himself.

Before she could change her mind she found herself quietly pulling her clothes back on and sneaking out the window to go down the fire escape like a naughty school kid. Henry was staying over at Regina's so no one would notice that she was gone and if she was lucky she could sneak into Hook's room, spend a few hours and be back here before morning.

Emma pushed through the door to Hook's hospital hoping that no one was there, she had let her Pirate down so badly that she had to be here for him now so when Whale came into the room a short while later she was ready for a fight but he just took one look at her and gave a heavy sigh.

"I wondered when you'd show up" he said gruffly "I'm surprise it took you so long"

"You knew I'd come back?"

"I had a fair idea you'd try... you get an hour then you NEED to leave"

Emma just nodded at the compromise then watched as Whale checked the various machines around the bed and jotted down a few notes on his chart.

"How's he doing?"

"He's hanging in there Miss Swan. There's not really been enough time for any big changes but his blood pressure is slightly better so it looks like the anti-viral's are starting to work"

"That's good right?" Emma sat forward on her chair and looked hopefully at Hook's face

"It's a start. He still has a long way to go though" he sighed again and sat down on the other chair "This may be a very long recovery, you know that right? Some of the complications can take months to learn to deal with and others... well others may be permanent. I wish I had better news but until he wakes up we just don't know anything but I believe it is important that you know what could be ahead, I don't believe in sugar coating things, it doesn't help anybody."

"Thanks" Emma deadpanned in reply.

Whale pulled himself to his feet again and headed towards the door but before he left he turned back and looked at her then dipped his head slightly.

"I'll be back in an hour and a half, I don't want you here when I get back" he raised an eyebrow at her as if challenging her to argue but Emma didn't. She knew he was giving her more time than he should and she was grateful but Emma couldn't believe that the town douche bag was being so nice and it must have shown on her face as he gave a small laugh

"Surprised that I can sympathize? Yeah well me too... who would have thought huh?" He chuckled then gave a laugh "Maybe the next time you find me passed out in the Rabbit Hole you could, I don't know... maybe cut me little slack?"

Emma gave a slight smile as the Doctor left the room but when her's eyes fell back on her Pirate it slid from her face... and she gave another heavy sigh.

She had intended on holding Hook's hand and talking to him and That was how her time had started but somewhere along the line she must have put her head down on the mattress because when Whale came back in it was to find Emma sleeping soundly. He shook his head slightly and just gave a smirk before checking over his patient, he did consider waking Emma up and telling her to go home but something about her hanging on to Hook's hand and the fact that she had been willing to sneak back into his room tugged on his heart so in the end he grabbed a spare blanket and threw it over Emma's back to keep off the chill and left her too it.

She'd probably regret it in the morning when she woke with a crick in her neck but for now she was where she needed to be. Whale just hoped that it didn't become a thing, he didn't want to have a fight on a nightly basis.

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"Emma" David called gently as he walked up the stairs, he wanted to wake her but not scare the life out of her, she'd probably had a rough night.

He came to a halt a few steps from the top when his eyes fell on her empty bed "Emma?"

He frowned and walked up the last three steps into the room to find it empty. He didn't need to even wonder what was going on, the curtains billowing by the open window told the full story. He smirked to himself as he walked over and pulled the window closed.

He made his way back downstairs to find Mary-Margaret making coffee in the kitchen, she looked up at him obviously expecting to see Emma too and when she only saw him returning she frowned.

"Is she still sleeping?"

"She's gone... pretty sure she went down the fire escape, probably didn't even stay for an hour after she went upstairs last night. I should have known she'd never leave that Pirate in the hospital by himself"

"Are you going there now?" Mary-Margaret asked handing him a cup

"Yeah... for a while then I'll need to head to the station for a while." He sat on one of the stools and sipped his drink wishing that he didn't have to leave Emma but with both her and Hook out of action he'd have to try and cover the workload by himself.

"OK so I'll ask Belle to look after Neal for a few hours this afternoon. I don't want Emma being by herself through this" Mary-Margaret said sitting next to him

He was just about to thank her when the door to the apartment suddenly opened and Regina and Henry walked in. Henry ran across the room and hugged Mary-Margaret tightly.

"Any news on Killian?" he asked hopefully

"Not yet Kid" David said standing up to grab his jacket "I'm about to head over to the hospital now and as soon as I know anything I will call, I promise"

"Can I not come too? I promise I won't get in the way"

"Sorry Henry, he's not allowed too many visitors just yet. Soon I promise."

Henry looked like he was about to argue but Regina spoke and stopped him.

"Henry, listen to your Grandfather. Why don't you go and grab whatever you needed and we'll get going"

Henry sighed then stalked off up the stairs and out of sight and as soon as he was gone Regina spoke again.

"I'll keep him as long as you need me too but you know that he's going to try everything he can to get into see Hook. He barely slept a wink last night, I caught him trying to call the hospital first thing"

"Thanks Regina. I'll call him as soon as I know anything."

But suddenly Regina glanced up the stairs nervously then pulled out a small vile from her pocket and held it out to David, he took it holding it in his hand in confusion,

"What's this?"

"Look I'm not saying this will cure him or anything like that but it MIGHT just help, I'm not really an expert on viruses from this world so don't get your hopes up." Regina hissed leaning forward "I didn't want Henry knowing, you know in case it didn't work"

David's eyebrows shot up in surprise but Regina carried on trying to convince them that what she was doing wasn't unusual.

"Hey, don't look so surprised." The Queen looked quite uncomfortable for a second before sighing "OK, this is what Swan needs, right? I don't think I could bare to see her mooning around after her lost love if... you know, the worst happened. We need our Savior focused. Who knows when the next disaster will strike"

David gave her a look that clearly said that he didn't believe her one bit, she tried to give him a warning look like she was daring him to challenge her but it was Mary-Margaret that finally broke her facade.

"Admit it Regina, you like him" she said with a grin

Regina huffed out a breath "OK, I admit it. He's grown on me and I may feel slightly guilty that he didn't get our immunity. That's what's in that vile, an immune system boost with a slight twist. I don't even know if it will work but it's worth a shot, right?"

David grinned widely as he tucked the vile in his pocket. He stepped forward and kissed the former evil Queen straight on her forehead eliciting a cry of surprise from her but it just made him laugh as he headed for the door pausing when Regina spoke in a hushed tone again.

"It needs to be absorbed through his skin but David be careful not to let Whale know what you are doing, he frowns on anything that is not his damn science and the last thing we need is him refusing anyone into see Hook, Emma would be devastated"

"Trust me he'll not know a thing" David gave one last grin then left practically running down the stairs to his truck, he had a Pirate to help and a Daughter that was about to be very very happy if this worked.

Now that he knew he may very well hold the one thing that could really help Hook he was keen to get to him as quickly as possible but as he stuck his head round the Pirate's door a short while later it was to find Whale at Hook's bedside David tried to give a somber look, he didn't need Whale suspecting anything so he just stood to one side and watched as the Doctor checked the Pirate's vitals. He looked around the room and wasn't surprised to see Emma hunched over with her head on the bed by Hook's hip but he was surprised that she was covered in a hospital blanket, so the Doc had actually let her stay! Whale finished up and as he was pulling off his disposable gloves he finally spoke.

"Before you ask he's pretty much the same as he was the last time you were here."

David just nodded his head and tried to look sad but when Whale gave him a curious look he knew he must not be acting normally so he decided to give the Doctor what he expected.

"Isn't there anything else you can do for him?" he asked stepping forward so that he could see the Pirate's face but when his eyes fell on Hook he forgot about his acting as he gasped "Woah, what the hell?"

"Yeah. Some people have just a few spots but he seems to have had a severe reaction. They're even inside his mouth" Whale replied with a grimace

"Is that normal? The spots in the mouth I mean" David asked as his eyebrows sat high on his forehead, how could it be?

"It's not uncommon shall we say but he just has more spots than normal"

"Why am I not surprised, he always has to go one better" David's eyes moved back to Hook, he clenched the vile in his pocket and wished that Whale would just leave but he didn't, he moved back to the treatment trolley and grabbed a new saline drip. He started switching it with the nearly empty one so David switched tactics.

"What time did Emma get here?"

"About an hour and a half after she left I'd say" Whale chuckled "When she fell asleep I didn't have the heart to wake her."

"Thanks" David said with a nod of his head "She probably got more sleep in that chair than she would have at home"

He glanced a look at Whale, the Doctor looked exhausted so he hoped that this would work. He yawned widely and stretched before shaking his head and blinking his eyes a few times.

"Didn't get much sleep myself. How about you? When was the last time your head hit a pillow"

David watched the Doc and was happy to see Whale give a yawn of his own as he hung the bag from the pole"What's a pillow?"

"Seriously? When do you get off?" David asked casually

"About three hours ago... but I'm going to try and head off once I'm finished here. I just need to apply his anti-viral cream then I'm done"

"I can do that if you want, I mean how hard can it be to put some cream on?" David said with a smile "I'm going to be here anyway" he added with a shrug.

"I don't know... it's not really protocol" Whale cringed but David could see he was wavering.

"Come on Whale, it's not like I'm not going to put it on him, I want him to get better remember"

This seemed to work as Whale finally sighed heavily and moved back to the trolley.

"Fine but it's messy, this stuff needs to be spread over as much of his body as you can... are you sure you don't mind? Maybe I should just do it" Whale suddenly didn't seem so keen at the idea anymore so David moved forward and grabbed the cream from the Doctor's hands.

"I got it... go home, get some sleep, you look beat"

Whale gave him a slight smile "Thanks, I'll be back on shift by eight, I hope I won't see you still here"

"I won't be, I need to go to the station but I can't say the same thing about Emma. I'm not sure even a dragon attack could make her leave this room right now"

Whale's gaze moved to Emma's sleeping form and he gave a soft smile.

"He's a lucky man having someone that cares about him like that"

David didn't reply he just nodded in agreement, Whale pulled in a deep breath then let it out in a huge sigh.

"Right, well if you're sure you've got this covered I'll head off. Thanks again."

With that he left the room, David's heart was thumping in his chest as he watched the door slowly close and the minute it was finally settled in it's frame he threw the cream on the end of Hook's bed and pulled out the vial instead.

"This better work" he muttered before pulling back Hook's blankets. He really was covered from head to toe in spots but David couldn't focus on that right now he had to get this done before anyone else came in or Emma woke up.

Being careful of the breathing tube that snaked it's way down the Pirate's throat David got to work rubbing the clear liquid into the skin across Hook's torso and ten minutes later he was pulling the blankets back up with a smile. Now all he had to do was wait and see if it worked.

David sat down on the empty seat and just looked at the Pirate waiting to see what would happen but after half an hour of staring there hadn't been a single change. He sat back with a sigh, why did he think that this would work? Nothing was ever that simple.

He was just about to call Mary-Margaret and tell her the bad news when Emma stirred on her chair and opened a bleary eye to look at him wincing as she straightened up.

"Dad? What time is it?" she asked as she stretched and rolled her neck back and forth.

"Just after ten. How was the chair?"

"Hard." she grit out arching her back while still sitting in the chair "Has Whale been in yet?"

"Yeah he left about half an hour ago but there's not been any change in Hook's condition overnight, he's just the same"

The look on Emma's face nearly crushed David's heart. He had wanted more than anything to have good news for her but Hook hadn't moved a muscle or shown any sign that the potion had had any effect on him whatsoever. Emma threw the blanket off, she pulled herself to her feet and came up to Hook's side.

"I can't believe that chickenpox can do this to someone. I had them as a kid and apart from the never ending itch it was no big deal, how can he be this bad?"

"I don't know Emma but there is one thing I do know, I know that he is a fighter. He's not going to give up on you without a fight so you can't give up on him either"

Emma didn't reply but he saw her thinking about his words before turning to him with a smile but before she spoke her eyes fell onto the cream that he had left on the end of the bed and she lent forward to pick it up with a look of confusion on her face.

"What's this?"

"Anti-viral cream." David sighed, he was going to have to tell Emma the whole story, this was going to be tough. "Sit down, I need to tell you something"

Emma sat down again and David explained how he had used the potion instead of the cream but it had not worked, he had expected Emma to be sad but a grin split her face and she jumped up to look back at Hook.

"Why are you smiling? I just told you it didn't work"

"That might be what you took away from this but you're forgetting one thing" she replied with a grin

"What?" David was really confused now

"He's pumped full of drugs keeping him asleep remember, it's not a natural sleep that he would just suddenly come around from if the potion was working. There is every chance that it has done something but we just don't know it"

David couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of that. Emma was right, this was down to the drugs in his system not the potion failing to work.

"So what do we do now?" David asked

"Nothing. You said that Regina said it was just a boost to help him so we leave him to heal and hope that when Whale brings him round that the potion has done it's job and he's got no lasting issues"

Emma clutched on to Hook's stump as she lent forward to kiss him on the cheek being careful of the breathing tube then she simply stood by his side playing with the hair that had fallen onto his forehead as she spoke to him.

"Did you hear all that Hook? Regina has fixed everything. All you have to do is sleep and get better... just don't take too long about it, I need you back"

David gave her a smile as she looked up at him with such hope but his stomach was rolling, what if this didn't work? Emma believed in Regina so much that she had now convinced herself that this potion was the magic fix to everything... he just hoped that she was right to put so much faith in the former Queen because if she was wrong this was going to break her heart.

David picked up the forgotten cream, maybe he should put this on too after all it couldn't do any harm. He moved back up to the Pirate's bedside and pulled back the blankets again.

"Help me put this on him, the more things that can help him in my book the better"

Emma nodded vigorously and as he blobbed the cream onto Hook's chest she started to rub it in on his left side while he worked down his right hand side and in no time at all they were done. David felt a bit better now, at least if Regina's potion didn't work they were still giving Hook his best chance.

Emma headed to the washroom and David sat down again wondering what he could do now. He had to try and keep Emma busy, he didn't want her thinking too much she might start to let the doubts back in but the door behind him opening had him twisting around to see who was there and in walked Granny carrying take out and a black suit bag.

"Granny!" he exclaimed in surprise

She gave him a warm smile and held up the take out.

"Figured no one would have felt much like going out for food so I figured I'd bring it to you and I thought I'd bring you his suit, don't want to leave it at the Bed and Breakfast too long, it'll go missing."

"Thanks" David said with a smile

She placed the food down on the small table then hung Hook's suit up on the hook on the back of the door before turning back to look at the Pirate in the bed.

"How's he doing?" Granny asked in a low voice

"There's not been much change but it's early days" he didn't want to go into too many details plus the smell of the food was distracting him.

"What smells so good?" Emma called from the washroom just before she stepped through the door back into the room where she stopped in surprise

"Granny! What are you doing here?"

"Just popped in with breakfast and his suit but I gotta get off, I need to be back for the lunch time rush"

She gave them a kind smile and made her way back to the door where she paused.

"Let me know if there's any change... I've kinda got used to his annoying face being around town"

David had to hide his smile, who would have thought that Granny would have a soft spot for Hook but he just nodded his head as he answered.

"I will... thanks breakfast. It's appreciated"

"Welcome" Granny replied and then she was gone leaving David and Emma to enjoy their unexpected food.

"Is Mom coming in later?" Emma asked around a mouthful of eggs

"Yeah, she said she'd get Belle to watch Neal and come in for a few hours so I could head to the station"

"Great, I'll get her to bring in a few essentials and maybe a couple of books. I get the feeling that there will be many hours of silence to deal with in the next few days."

And with that David realized that he didn't have to worry about Emma, it seemed that she was already planning ways to keep herself entertained. He took a sip of his coffee and lent back in his chair to take in the Pirate. In the end he was smiling as he looked at Hook's heart rate monitor and saw that the Pirate's temperature had dropped again. It was a strange situation to be in, not knowing if it was down to the conventional medicine that Whale had left or Regina's potion but at the end of the day David didn't care, hell he'd force feed Hook eye of bat if it brought the result that they were all hoping for.


	6. Chapter 6

**A bit of a shorter chapter today but I had a lot on so forgive me.**

 **Not much Hook in this chapter but I promise the next one he will be back so please be patient.**

 **Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed with such kind comments. They really do make my day every time my phone "bongs".**

Several hours passed, Mary-Margaret arrived just after mid-day and they all ate lunch which she brought in from home and David eventually left shortly before two giving Emma a tight hug before he went.

"I'll be back in the morning, keep me updated on any changes"

"I will" she promised with a smile as she sat back down next to her Mom.

Nurses popped in and out of the room throughout the day but they never made any comment about Hook's condition telling Emma that the Doctor would fill her in later so by the time Whale finally came back into the room at just after eight thirty she was just about climbing the walls.

Whale took his time checking Hook over, he kept looking suspiciously over at Emma but she schooled her features into what she hoped was an innocent look.

"How's he doing?" she asked stepping up to take Hook's hand in hers and squeezing it tightly.

But Whale just held his finger up in a "Wait a minute" motion as he took up Hook's chart and made a few notes. He pulled the blankets back and placed his stethoscope on the Pirate's chest to listen intently, Emma nearly laughed when his eyebrows shot up in surprise but she quickly masked it as a cough when Whale gave her a funny look and finally spoke.

"What did you do?" he asked narrowing his eyes at her

"Nothing... why? What's wrong?" she added just the right amount of concern to her voice and looked at Hook's face with a worried glance before moving her gaze back to Whale waiting on his reply

The Doctor suddenly looked unsure and Emma breathed an inner sigh or relief as he looked away again to move the stethoscope to a different position on Hook's side.

"Whale? What's going on? Will you just tell me what the hell is happening? I've been sitting here all day and no one would tell me anything" Emma suddenly burst out and only some of it was in pretence, she really did want to know if the potion had worked.

"Well... it looks like the anti-viral cream has done it's job, his temperature has come down a bit. It's still a little high but much better than it was but I think the most surprising thing is his chest, it sounds a lot clearer than it was. That's the thing I don't understand" Whale scratched his head and furrowed his brow as he stood looking at Hook in awe "He was showing quite severe symptoms of pneumonia, ones that I thought would take a while to improve but apart from a small crackle on his left lung he sounds so much better. I don't know what to make of any of this, are you sure you didn't do anything?"

Emma was saved from lying when Mary-Margaret suddenly spoke taking the Doctor's attention away.

"Victor! We have just been sitting here waiting on you coming in, what are we supposed to have done?" she said indignantly before adding in a hopeful tone "Maybe he's just a quick healer. Maybe it's a residual effect from his time in Neverland... he did seem to recover quite quickly when he was hit by that car"

Emma knew that last part wasn't true. Hook hadn't recovered quickly from his car accident at all, he just liked people to think he had. It had actually taken him months to fully get over his broken ribs but he had hidden it well, unwilling to let the world know that the fearsome Captain Hook was injured. He couldn't after all let his enemies see him weak, that was his thinking anyway but Emma had caught a glimpse of him one night when they were still in Neverland when he had been washing in a stream and the look of pain on his face as he had tried to move about had her wincing right along with him but the fact that her Mom had challenged Whale seemed to have the Doctor on the back foot.

"Maybe... Look, I'm going to arrange for another MRI scan, I want to get fresh images of his chest and I also want to see what's going on inside that head of his"

With that he stalked from the room giving Emma one last suspicious look before he disappeared from sight, the minute he was gone Emma grinned widely turning to her Mom with a laugh.

"Did you hear that?" she cried out lifting Hook's hand to her lips and kissing it sweetly

"I did hear it Emma but can we just wait to see what the MRI shows before we get too excited?" Mary-Margaret said in a hushed tone "And would you stop grinning like an idiot, you're supposed to be worried"

"You're right, I know but I can't help it... I just need him back" Emma's smile left her face as she looked back at Hook. He still looked so ill and that damned lump was back in her throat as she suddenly thought about losing him again, she had come so close that it had scared her and she didn't hadn't told him how she felt.

Whale bustled back into the room a few minutes later followed by a nurse just in time to see Emma's worried face, he paused and gave her a thoughtful look before obviously deciding that she was innocent of any wrong doing and speaking words of comfort.

"Don't look so worried Miss Swan. This should only take about an hour. Normally we would wait until morning but if I'm right and his chest has improved it means I can look at reducing his sedation which means that we should be able to remove his vent soon and that's a good thing"

She gave a slight smile as they started getting Hook ready to go and a few minutes later she watched as they pushed him out the door. The wait was almost worse than the one from the night before as she sat nervously in the room just waiting on her Pirate returning.

An hour later and Emma was pacing the room, it was getting late and she was starting to freak out. She was getting worried that her Mom would have to leave and that she would be left to deal with this by herself so when Mary-Margaret stood up and lifted her coat from the chair Emma couldn't help it when she burst out.

"Don't leave me, I don't think I can do this by myself"

"Emma, calm down. I'm not going anywhere, I'm just going to call your Dad and let him know what's going on and that I'll be home late"

Emma just nodded her head as her Mom pulled her cell out of her coat pocket holding it up to show she wasn't lying. Emma went back to her pacing back and forth across the room while her Mom spoke in a quite voice in the corner, what was taking Whale so long?

Nearly two hours after they had left the door finally opened to reveal Hook being pushed back in and Emma's heart nearly burst from her chest at the sight of him, she was at his side in seconds once he was settled back into place.

"I'm sorry we took longer than expected but it's good news." Whale said with a grin

"He's gonna be OK?" Emma asked looking at Whale's face

"Miss Swan don't get too carried away. His chest has improved enough that I am confident that he will be able to breathe for himself once he wakes but that doesn't mean that he is OK. His cranial MRI showed improvement too but there are still some signs of swelling and a couple of small area's that we will need to keep an eye on over the next few days BUT he has improved enough for me to reduce his sedation."

"What? You mean he's going to wake up?" Emma cried out and smiled widely

"Well that's what we're all hoping for. It's really up to him now but Miss Swan be aware that he may take several days to come round and if he does just remember that recovery can be slow. He may be very disorientated and confused for a while, we'll just have to wait and see"

A single tear slid down Emma's face and Whale must have taken it for sadness as he spoke again to try and reassure her.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep, it's been a long day. I'll speak to you again in the morning and we'll see how he's doing. He's not likely to wake for a while yet with the drugs still in his system so it really would be best to rest while you can, then you can be fresh for the morning"

Emma wiped the tear from her face and gave the Doctor another small smile, inside she was grinning but she couldn't show it. She had to pretend to be worried but she knew that Regina had done it. Hook's MRI had shown improvement, enough improvement that Whale was waking him up. It may take a bit of time but Emma was now convinced that Hook was going to get better and nothing that anybody else said would convince her otherwise.

With more hope in her heart than she would have thought possible she lent over the bed and kissed Hook on the forehead.

"I'm going home now... I don't want to but I don't have a choice" she threw Whale a look hoping that he might have changed his mind but he just raised an eyebrow at her slightly and shook his head. "I promise I will be back first thing and Dad said he'd come in too so you better get some rest before then, I expect nothing but your full attention when I come back, got that Pirate?"

She stroked the side of his face lightly with her fingers, the spots had formed into blisters now and she was careful not to do any damage as she tucked his hair behind his ear. She felt her Mom's hand slide across her back showing that it was time to leave.

It was late and Emma was beyond tired, she knew that she would sleep when she finally crawled into bed a short time later and pulled the cover up under her chin. As she closed her eyes she knew that Hook was going to be OK and she would be back by his side in a few short hours.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

David woke with a jolt as his heart thumped in his chest, this was getting out of control. He kept waking from the same dream and nothing he did before going to bed seemed to help. He breathed heavily trying to calm himself down, telling himself time and time again that it was just a dream.

"David? You are OK?" Mary-Margaret asked in a sleepy voice by his side.

He turned his head to see her concerned face, he just smiled and nodded his head but she didn't seem willing to let it go that quickly.

"Another bad dream?" she asked coming up on to her elbows and looking at him intently.

"Yeah" he sighed out and closed his eyes trying to get the echoes of the fading dream to leave him.

"It wasn't real. It's OK." she soothed

"It was real Mary-Margaret. It was all far too real and that's the problem... I just... I can't get it out of my head. Every dream is the same, it plays out exactly how it happened and I actually feel the knife going into his back... I did that. I killed him"

"David, no" Mary-Margaret scooted across the bed and pulled him into her arms "That wasn't you just like it wasn't me and besides Hook already forgave so you don't need to worry about it anymore."

"I know but I can't help it" he pulled her in tight and just held her, he knew this wasn't just about what happened in the other world, this was his guilt at leaving Hook alone when he was sick. How had he not seen that he was really ill? God, he'd laughed at him, he was such an ass.

"What's going on in that head of yours David? I can practically hear you thinking?"

"How did I not see it Mary-Margaret?" He sighed into her hair

"This isn't just about then is it? David nobody saw it. Whale told you himself that it can come on quickly. You got him help as soon as you realized, if you hadn't... well I dread to think what would have happened"

They just lay in silence for a while until they heard movement from the room above. Emma had obviously woken early too and was creeping about trying not to make a noise. A grin split David's voice as he looked at Mary-Margaret with eyes full of mischief.

"HEY, NO SNEAKING DOWN THE FIRE ESCAPE..." he yelled loudly and Mary-Margaret giggled in his arms

"Very funny" Emma called in reply "I'm leaving in half an hour, if you're coming you better be ready otherwise you can make your own way there"

"I'm up, I'm up" he called back as he threw back the comforter and pulled himself from the bed just as Emma was coming down the stairs. "Morning, how did you sleep?"

"Like a log... I'm starved, you wanna stop at Granny's on the way"

"Now that's a plan" David smiled back as he lent in and kissed the top of her head before he turned and headed to the bathroom.

"Hey, I was going in there" Emma cried behind him.

"You snooze you lose" he called back, he caught a glimpse of her face as he swung the door closed and she didn't look amused.

"Breakfast's on you for that" she called loudly as if he wouldn't hear through the fogged glass and he just grinned, yeah he could do that.

 **Half and hour later**

"Morning Sheriffs" Granny called as they walked in to the diner "How's that Pirate doing?"

"A bit better. Whale's hopeful he should be awake soon but we'll just need to wait and see what happens over the next couple of days" Emma replied

"That's great news. Now what can I get you?"

"Can we have two specials with coffee to go please?" David said with a smile and as Granny was about to take the money he spoke again "I wanted to thank you properly for your help the other day"

"Meh, It was nuthin' I just did what anyone would have done." She replied with a shrug "Besides I had to help... A man dying in your B&B don't exactly sell rooms now does it?" she threw David a wink as she snatched the money from his hand and stuffed it in the cash register closing it quickly without offering any change then stalked off through to the kitchen.

"How can that woman make you feel so welcome in one second then kick the feet out from under you in the next?" David asked Emma with a chuckle

"YEARS and YEARS of practice" Emma laughed back

"I heard that" Granny's disembodied voice carried through from beyond the doors and David had to fight hard not to burst out laughing at the look of horror on Emma's face at being heard.


	7. Chapter 7

**A chapter of pure Hook and Captain Swan for you... enjoy this early update.**

 **It is snowing outside and blawin' a hoolie (as we say in Scotland) so I decided that a morning in bed writing was a much nicer option than facing the outside world.**

 **As always let me know what you think.**

 **:)**

The itch was unbearable but he couldn't move to scratch anything, his arms felt too heavy. Hell he couldn't even open his eyes never mind move his arms and he felt disconnected from reality, a bit like he was floating.

His chest felt strange too but he couldn't figure out why. Where was he? Why couldn't he move?

He could hear someone talking nearby and he strained his ears trying to listen to what they were saying but it just sounded like mumbles. Why were they speaking so quietly?

He mentally rolled his eyes... it was just too difficult to do anything so he didn't try, he just let sleep take him again.

Some time later he became aware of the voices again and this time they were a bit clearer but he didn't recognize them. Someone was poking and prodding at him but he still couldn't do anything about it, still too disconnected from his own body. It was the strangest sensation he had ever experienced and not one he cared to repeat anytime soon but it seemed to last forever. He would surface from sleep but not, unable to fully wake but aware enough to know that he was not alone as the voices still sounded around him.

Then after many failed attempts he finally managed to peel back his eyelids to see that he was once again in a strange room, it was too bright and hurt his head. After having fought so hard to open his eyes he found himself slamming them shut without a second thought as his head screamed in protest.

He tried to groan but was suddenly aware that he couldn't. What the hell? There was something in his throat!

He couldn't breathe...

His eyes flew open again as panic set in but the light was still too bright and he screwed them shut again cursing his headache. He brought his hand up to try and pull whatever it was from his mouth but someone had grabbed hold of his arm and he couldn't fight them.

"Hook... calm down. There is a machine breathing for you, I'll take the tube out in just a second but you need to calm down"

What? A machine! If that was meant to calm him down it wasn't going to work, the thought of a machine breathing for him just made him panic further and he fought against the person holding him down until he heard her voice.

"Killian. Just hold still and it will be gone... I promise"

She sounded like a siren in his head and part of him tried to resist but when he felt her touch on his face he knew she was real and she was by his side, he let his arm fall back onto the bed and felt her hand crawl into his.

"That's it" the man's voice spoke again and Killian suddenly realized that it was Whale, was he in the hospital? What the hell was going on? But Whale spoke again distracting him from his thoughts.

"OK, hold tight we're going to remove the tube. When I count to three I need you to cough as hard as you can, it will make it easier."

Killian wasn't ready, he wasn't even really sure what he was supposed to be ready for but he couldn't stop it as Whale started his countdown. He tried to do what he was told but when he felt the "tube" beginning to move in his throat he panicked again but it didn't stop Whale carried on anyway and as soon as the tube finally left his mouth he was hacking his lungs up, unable to think of anything other than trying to breathe.

More hands were on him trying to push him back against the pillows but he was fighting hard, he still couldn't breathe and when something was clamped onto his face it was too much and he completely lost it... then he felt something cool wash through him and all his fight left, he felt like he was floating again and his hearing sounded strange like the people were far away in his head but they were fading fast as he headed back into the darkness once more, he didn't fight it he just let it take him as he felt someone stroking their fingers through his hair... Swan, his Swan.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

"He'll probably sleep for a few hours now" was all Whale said as he fixed Hook's blankets and stepped back from the bed to adjust something on one of the machines.

After three days of sitting waiting on Hook waking up she had literally gotten two minutes of him freaking out before Whale had sedated him again. She let out a sigh as her Dad's hand fell on her shoulder.

"Well that wasn't how I imagined that going down" he said letting out a long breath

"I did warn you that he might be confused and disorientated when he woke up but hopefully now that the breathing tube is out the next time he wakes he should be a bit calmer. The tube removal didn't exactly go to plan with him freaking out so don't be surprised if his throat is a bit sore, he may struggle to speak for a few days"

"Great, just when he wakes up he'll not be able to talk to us" Emma rolled his eyes in frustration.

"I said he MAY struggle not that he would. When he next wakes I need to ask him a few questions too to assess the effects that the encephalitis has had on him so hit the call button"

Emma just nodded at Whale as he finally left the room and they were left alone again.

"Hey, don't look so down Emma, he woke up. That's a good thing"

"Yeah after three days he woke up for like two minutes... yay" Emma pumped her hand in the air in a mock cheer

"I get that you are frustrated but he'll be awake again soon, he just didn't know what was going on and being honest if someone had been pulling a breathing tube from my lungs I think I would have freaked out too"

Emma sighed and sat up a bit straighter to look at Hook again, he was sleeping soundly again but this time he had an oxygen mask sitting firmly over his mouth and nose. The plastic kept fogging with every breath and something about it brought comfort to Emma, he was finally breathing for himself and her Dad was right, he'd wake again and she'd be able to talk to him very soon.

"What time's Mom coming in?" she asked slumping back in the chair and looking outside to see the sun beaming down.

"Belle's going to watch Neal again but if the weather stays like this I thought I'd get Granny to make up a picnic lunch for me and your Mom, you know spend a couple of hours together before heading back here, if you don't mind being by yourself for a while"

"Of course not, you guys have some time, it looks like a beautiful day. I know it's been tough over the last few days and I appreciate you guys being here for me but he's out of danger now and I'm sure I can survive a couple of hours by myself."

Emma smiled at her Dad as he grabbed his jacket but didn't put it on he just held it in his hand, he must have brought it out of habit, it was much too warm to be wearing leather. He dropped a kiss on her head then looked at Hook still in the bed.

"Hopefully you won't be alone too long" he said with a smile and Emma hoped he was right.

She picked up her book when David left and settled down in her chair but as the day went on the room started to heat up in the sun and she found herself throwing the book to the side and walking over to open the window. She stood just staring out watching the people milling about in the grounds, some wore hospital gowns and she suddenly found herself wondering if that would be her and Hook in a few days and she grinned widely at the thought but a noise behind her had her turning back to the bed to see Hook blinking his eyes open before screwing them closed again.

"HOOK!" she yelled but he physically cringed at her yell and she realized his head must still hurt so she lowered her voice when she got back to his side "Hey, come on. Open your eyes"

He peeked an eye open at her but it didn't stay that way, he closed it again as he brought his hand up to his face to try and pull the mask off but she stopped him in time and just held his hand in hers.

"Does your head still hurt?" she asked figuring that the bright light was probably the issue but there was nothing she could do about that, she couldn't turn off the sun.

He nodded his head slightly but again stopped with a wince and sighed heavily.

"Aye" he croaked but it was enough for Emma to grin widely, he had spoken to her. He had answered her question, he was going to be fine.

"Just hang on, I'm going to get Whale to come in, he said he needs to do some tests when you woke up"

She tried to pull her hand away so that she could reach over to hit the call button but Hook held onto her tightly and when she looked at his face it was to see his eyes open wide in fear.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I just need to press the button"

He faltered for a second before finally letting go, she literally took two steps to press the button then was back at his side but in that time he had closed his eyes again and was breathing heavily.

"Hey, it's OK. Calm down. I'm here" she took his hand again and stroked her fingers across his knuckles as he gripped her tightly but the next words he spoke had her gasping in shock.

"Liam..." he breathed out, he couldn't possibly think she was Liam, could he?

"Hook, it's Emma" she said in a panicked voice but he shook his head slightly and spoke again.

"Lost... Liam... ward"

What was he talking about? He had lost Liam a long time ago but she couldn't make out the last word he was saying.

"I don't understand Hook" she gave his hand a slight squeeze and watched as his brow furrowed a bit before he opened his eyes again.

"Henry... Liam... ward" he said looking her right in the eye but she was even more confused.

"Hook... I... I don't..." but she was cut off when Whale pushed through the door and came up to the bed with a wide smile.

"Glad to see you're awake" he greeted Hook

"His head is still bothering him, can you give him something for the pain?" Emma said quietly when Hook again cringed at the volume of Whale's voice

"I'm sure I can do something" he replied quietly before moving to the treatment trolley in the corner of the room, he came back a few minutes later and injected something into Hook's IV line "That should start to work in a few minutes. Now how's he doing?"

"I thought he was fine but then he started asking for Liam?" Emma said in a worried voice

"Who's Liam?"

"His Brother" Emma answered with a sigh

"Oh, I didn't know you have a Brother" Whale said turning back to Hook with a smile

Emma was about to explain that Liam had been gone a long time when Hook suddenly pulled his hand from her's and started grasping at his blankets.

"Liam...lost... Liam... ward... Henry"

"What's he talking about?" Whale asked turning back to Emma in confusion

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, he's not making sense. Look, Liam WAS his Brother, he's been gone a long time but he keeps asking for him and someone walled Ward! I have no idea who that is... then he started asking for Henry. Whale what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, it may just be confusion from being out of it for a few days. Let me do a few more tests and see what happens"

Emma tried to take Hook's hand again but he kept pulling it away and as she watched him it looked like he was searching for something in his blankets?!

"Hook, I'm going to shine a light in your eyes now. It is probably going to hurt but I need to do it, I'll be as quick as I can" Whale said quickly as he pulled Hook's eyelid back and the hand that had been roaming the blankets was suddenly back in Emma's gripping her tightly

"OK, great" Whale quickly pocketed the flashlight and took up his stethoscope and tugged back Hook's blankets to reveal the mass of crusted over spots that had slowly dried up over the last three days "I need you to take some deep breaths for me"

Hook did as he was told and Emma was pleased to see that he managed it with little issue only giving a small cough with the last one but he recovered from it quickly and Whale seemed satisfied.

"OK, he seems to be managing fine. I think we can remove this" he gave a smile as he pulled the oxygen mask from Hook's face and the Pirate opened his eyes again and looked at Emma.

Emma's throat instantly closed when he gave her a little lopsided smile, squeezed her hand and croaked "Swan"

"Hey beautiful" she managed to say as her chest hitched in a sob of pure happiness and a tear slipped down her face and if she had thought her heart couldn't take anymore it nearly burst when he raised an eyebrow at her and grinned.

"My line" he breathed out as his eyebrow came back down and he closed his eyes again.

And that was the last that he gave her as he fell back into sleep but it was more than enough, she had been so worried when he had started talking about Liam, he hadn't been making sense but that wasn't important now, what was important was that he knew who she was and he had spoken to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**You know what happens when a Pirate in hospital starts to feel better don't you,**

 **No?!**

 **Well you better read on... enjoy**

"He knew who I was" Emma grinned as David and Mary-Margaret came into Hook's room an hour later

"Emma that's great" Mary-Margaret cried as she rushed forward and hugged their Daughter tightly.

David saw tears running down both of their faces and he knew why, the relief he was feeling was nothing compared to what Emma must be going through so he just stepped forward and pulled both his girls into his embrace but a voice from the bed had them all turning in surprise before the hug lasted too long.

"Liam..." Hook mumbled still with his eyes closed and Emma sighed.

"I don't get it, he keeps asking for Liam but he knew me. Surely he must know that Liam's gone, right?" Emma's face fell into one of concern as she took up Hook's hand again "Hook, are you awake?"

Everyone watched eagerly as Hook's eyes rolled beneath his eyelids and finally peeked open to fall on Emma's face to which he gave another small smile and squeezed her hand gently.

"Hello Love" he whispered but his eyes were moving again and they flicked across Mary-Margaret to land on David.

The minute their eyes met Hook became agitated.

"Lost it... lost Liam's 'ward" he looked at David with a pleading look and David tried to figure out what he was talking about.

"You've lost something of Liam's?" David asked cautiously

Hook gave a nod of his head but winced quickly stopping.

"Ward... for Henry"

David thought hard, what was a ward? a ward... not a ward an award and the image of Hook picking up the small leather pouch and putting it into his suit pocket hit David.

"Liam's award" he said quickly "You had an old award of Liam's to give to Henry. You put it in your jacket pocket before going to the ceremony"

Hook sighed and closed his eyes leaning back in his pillows as he sighed out "Lost"

"Hang on, your suit is here. It should still be in the pocket" David said as he walked over and unzipped the suit bag on the back of the door. He rummaged about inside and sure enough within seconds he could feel the heavy weight of the leather pouch, he grinned to himself as his fingers finally found it in the pocket and pulled it free.

When he turned back towards the bed it was to see Hook watching him intently and when he held up the pouch the Pirate smiled widely and held up a slightly shaking hand. David held the pouch out as he walked back over, it had some weight to it and if it had belonged to Liam it must have some age to it too. David was keen to see it so when he handed it over he was more than a little curious.

"Let's see it then"

But Hook just shook his head slightly and pulled his hand up clutching the award over his heart.

"For Henry" Hook whispered but popped an eye open to look at him with a smirk "You don' get 'ward."

"Really? Why not? I think I deserve a big award for having to wear all that guyliner" David laughed but it was Emma who answered.

"Hey, it's not Hook's fault you can't pull it off like he can" She grinned widely and when David looked at Hook he was grinning like an idiot. David couldn't help it, he laughed along with them but after a few minutes his curiosity was still torturing him.

"You're really not going to show us?"

"Henry" was all Hook replied clutching the pouch a bit tighter

"OK I get it... it's for Henry" David gave a chuckle

"Do you want me to bring Henry in tomorrow? He's been dying to see you and it's the weekend so he has no school" Emma asked Hook, his gaze moved to her and he gave a slight nod but yet again he winced. "Is your head still hurting you?"

"Aye... itchy too" he gave another sigh "What wrong?"

"You caught a virus..." Emma started but she seemed to struggle to find the words so David stepped in.

"Yeah, a virus that kids in this world usually get when they're young, it usually only last a few days and the kid's fine but it can be more serious in adults and because you didn't come over with the first curse you didn't get Regina's built in immunity so when there was an outbreak you unfortunately caught it then to make things worse you had a complication that effected your brain"

Hook's eyebrow shot up and his eyes moved back to Emma's face.

"That's why your head hurts. I'm sure Whale will be in soon, we'll see if he can give you something for the pain again"

She watched as he let his eyes close again and she thought he was going back to sleep but he surprised her when he spoke.

"Sorry Love... ruin'd Henry day"

"Hey, that wasn't your fault, you didn't do any of this on purpose. I'm sorry, I should have noticed you were sick instead of just assuming it was from you drinking."

He turned his head back to her and opened his eyes again.

"S alright Love"

"OK while we're all at the apologizing thing I should also say that I'm sorry for spiking your beer, if I hadn't we would have noticed that you were ill earlier and maybe we wouldn't be here now" David said sincerely. Hook just looked at him for a while before giving a slight cough and speaking slowly.

"It was good beer..." he smirked

"Yeah it was wasn't it" David laughed in reply.

They were still laughing when Whale came back in a few minutes later and he smiled right along with them as he took Hook's vitals.

"How you feeling?" the Doc asked as he worked.

"Good" was all Hook said and David knew it was a lie.

"That's not exactly true is it? He's still got a headache and he says he's itchy"

Hook threw him a dirty look but David didn't want him suffering more than he needed to so he could deal with the looks if it meant Hook got the meds he needed.

"OK, I can give you more pain relief and I'll get some Calamine brought in, I'm sure Miss Swan will be only too happy to help apply that for you" Whale gave a smirk and threw Hook a wink but when David looked at the Pirate he didn't look amused and the smirk fell from Whale's face when he realized that no one was laughing. He cleared his throat, picked up the chart from the end of Hook's bed and jotted down a few notes before tucking his pen into his pocket

"Right well... I think you are well enough that you can be moved out of ICU in the next couple of days once the last of these spots have crusted over and you're no longer contagious"

"Really?" Emma asked hopefully

"Yeah, we'll get you moved to the main ward maybe the day after tomorrow"

Emma grinned widely but Hook didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" David asked "This is one step closer to getting out of here"

"Too noisy" he breathed out and winced again, he was obviously worried that it would hurt his head.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that your head will feel better by then and if it's not I'll see what I can do about finding you a side room but I'm confident you'll be fine with the rate that you've been healing. That Neverland magic really is a wonderful thing"

Hook furrowed his brow slightly but when David waved his arms dramatically behind Whale's back showing that he should just agree the Pirate nodded.

"Aye... lucky me" he breathed out as his eyes slid shut again and David could tell that he'd had enough but when Whale returned a short while later with the promised Calamine Lotion Hook opened his eyes and David nearly laughed at the moan of pleasure that came from him as Emma started dabbing the lotion over the spots across his front.

"I take it that feels good" David chuckled picking up a wad of absorbent cotton "You want me to help?"

Hook eyed him suspiciously but he nodded anyway and when Mary-Margaret stepped forward too they had him covered in the pink liquid within ten minutes, five minutes later he was sleeping peacefully again still clutching Liam's award in his hand and David, Mary-Margaret and Emma stood looking at the sight before them.

"Do you think he realizes that he looks like a giant cotton candy?" David asked with a chuckle

"I'm not even sure he knows what cotton candy is" Emma replied "But right now he's not itching anymore so I don't think he'll really care"

They left him an hour later after he had briefly woken up and Emma had promised that she would be back in the morning with Henry, he had smiled lazily at her and she knew he had heard her even though he didn't speak.

David didn't say anything but he was looking forward to coming back, he wanted to see Henry's face when Hook gave him that award. Was it really something that had belonged to Liam? If it was it must mean a lot to the Pirate and that made David happy to know that he cared about Henry that much. A pang of guilt flitted through him again when he remembered that he had doubted Hook on the day of the ceremony but he quickly dismissed it, they had moved on from that. Hook had forgiven him and being honest it had been a weight off his shoulders.

"You OK?" Mary-Margaret asked taking his hand as they all walked towards David's truck.

"Yeah" he simply said with a smile "Better than I have been in a while"

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The next time Killian woke it was still dark outside, there was little light on in the room so that he could still see but the darkness and the silence were bliss to his still sore head. His gaze wandered round the room and finally settled on one of the huge window panes, right in the center was the moon. Killian sighed at the sight, the night sky always calmed him but suddenly he found himself needing to see more. Although the moon was bright enough to be seen from his bed the stars were being obscured from the reflections on the glass.

He tucked Liam's award under his pillow then struggled to sit himself upright, he found that when he finally managed it he had to sit still for a few minutes as his world spun but eventually his head settled and he started pulling back his blankets only to find something that he had not been expecting. He was attached to the bed by a long tube that was connected to a bag full of... Oh bloody hell! Now he knew why he hadn't needed to use the bathroom yet. He looked around the room nervously as if someone was watching but of course there was no one there. He wasn't exactly sure how they had managed it but now that he knew that it was there it was uncomfortable to say the least and it was not staying there.

Exactly one minute later the line was free and so was he. He dropped it like a hot brick over the side of the bed and shuddered at the thought of what he had just done but when he looked back up it was to see the moon still waiting for him so he wiggled his way to the edge of the bed and cautiously put his feet onto the floor and stood up.

His legs felt a bit wobbly but apart from that he was good. He grabbed a blanket and tied it around his waist conscious that he was as naked as the day he was born before he took his first tentative steps... only to find that he was attached to another bag by his left arm but this time it looked like the bag was putting something into him instead of removing it so he thought better of pulling it besides the end of it seemed to be stuck through his skin so he wasn't sure how that would have ended. He sighed heavily and glanced at the moon again, it was so close but he was stuck. As he hung his head in frustration it was to see that the thing that the bag was hanging from had wheels... could he move it?

He shuffled sideways so that he could reach it and sure enough seconds later he was shuffling his way over to the other side of the room to stare out at the night sky. He was quite glad of the pole in the end as he found that his balance was not as it should be but he finally got to his destination and smiled widely to himself.

He stood for a few minutes just appreciating the sky but all too soon he knew that he would have to head back to the bed as his legs gave a wobble. The return journey was not so much fun, he stumbled just as he was getting back to his bedside and crashed into the machines that he had been disconnected from earlier that day after Whale had deemed he no longer needed them sending them away in different directions. He shushed them like it was their fault for the noise they were making as one rolled across the floor on it's wheels and hit the wall, he cringed and looked to the door expecting someone to come in but no one did and he let out a sigh of relief. So by the time Killian had untied the blanket from his waist and was pulling himself back under the covers he was exhausted... exhausted but happy.

Killian looked at the clock to see that it was nearly two am and gave a contented sigh, he still had time to sleep before the others got there, his head felt better than it had and his mind was much clearer.

Henry was coming in in the morning and Killian was nervous in a good way about finally being able to give the Lad Liam's award. He shuffled about on the bed to retrieve the award from under his pillows and once again found himself clutching it tightly over his heart. This award was really the last thing he had that had belong to Liam... well except for the Jolly of course and after trading her once he knew how it felt to lose her, it had felt like losing Liam all over again BUT he had done it to save Emma and he would do it again in a heartbeat. He didn't need physical reminders of his Brother, he carried him every day in his heart and his mind and that was enough for him. Liam would be proud to know that his old award was going to someone who truly deserved it and that made Killian happy beyond word.

With that thought in mind he closed his eyes and let sleep take him... only to be wrenched awake sometime later by a high pitched scream.

"Bloody Hell" he gasped, eyes flew open as he sat bolt upright in the bed quickly looking around the room for the person who made the noise to see no one there, had he been dreaming? But seconds later a hand thumped onto the bottom of his bed and Whale's face appeared over the mattress as he pulled himself back to his feet, he looked livid and was holding something in his hand.

"Care to tell me why it looks like a hurricane has gone through here and why THIS is no longer attached to you and has leaked... shall we just call it urine to be pleasant... all over the floor so that I could slip and fall in it!"

Killian held in his laugh and let his face fall into a look of total shock as he gazed at the destruction he had caused the night before... he looked around in awe before snapping his jaw closed and giving a slight smile as if he just figured something out, he then clicked his fingers and spoke.

"Poltergeist... you must have a poltergeist!"


	9. Chapter 9

**So it seems that the site was being a bit funny as some of you seemed to be missing chapter six even though others got it, very strange. Let's hope that it has been fixed now.**

 **Let's carry on shall we?**

 **A little more Captain Swan for you all with a little Captain Charming thrown in for good measure.**

 **Not much left to go now and my brain is already reeling with ideas for my next fic.**

 **Enjoy and please feel free to review.**

"You're being ridiculous" Whale practically yelled at Killian as he stood at the side of his bed still annoyed by the fact that he had fallen "You are not well enough to have the Foley Catheter removed just yet, never mind the galavanting around the room, what were you thinking? Now would you lie still and let me put this back in."

"I bloody well …..will not... You come near... me with that thing and you ….. you will live to regret it" Killian snarled back. There was no way he was letting that man anywhere near him with that thing and as he held the blankets tightly over himself he saw a wave doubt wash over Whale. He had hoped that his bravado was enough to put the Doctor off his game and was glad to see that it seemed to have worked as the Doc snapped.

"Fine. I give in. I really don't know why I bother!" Whale threw his hands in the air in frustration "Of course you would know best wouldn't you? I mean just how many years of medical experience do you have? Oh yeah that would be none... well I hope you wet the bed you infuriating, ungrateful... son of a... Ugh, you are impossible"

With that he stormed from the room leaving Killian by himself but he really didn't care. If the Doctor was annoyed well so be it, Killian had won the battle of minds and that's all that mattered.

Well that's all he had thought had mattered as he tried to go back to sleep but sometime later he was not so sure he'd made the right decision as he was left trying to struggle his way across the room to use the facilities by himself. His head kept spinning which meant more than once he nearly ended up on the floor when his world narrowed then to make things worse the blanket that he had tied around his waist again worked itself loose which had him at a standstill half way across the floor. He couldn't let go of the pole to retie it with his balance issues, he had tried but the minute he let go he listed badly to one side so in the end he just let the blanket fall to the floor and he carried on regardless, modesty be damned... he needed to pee.

He didn't have the strength to keep standing any longer so for the first time since he was about two years old he found himself sitting down to relieve himself and somehow he just couldn't bring himself to care, he was just too damned tired now.

Killian was breathing heavily and his chest felt too tight again making him cough which in turn made his head spin as he sat there unable to get himself back to his bed. He groaned loudly and lent forward as a wave of nausea washed over him bringing him out in a cold sweat, Gods why did the universe hate him?

He gave a shiver regretting leaving his blanket behind but there was nothing he could do about that now, his eyes wandered to the shower in the corner and he wished with all his might that he could be standing under the warm water but there was no way he could do it, not by himself. Where was Whale? He'd not been in to check on him for a while, was this his punishment for not listening to the Doctor?

Killian lost track of time as he sat waiting on someone, anyone coming into his room but no one did, not for what felt like hours but finally he heard the door open and David calling his name.

"Hook? What the hell is his blanket doing here? Where is he?"

"Maybe they've taken him for more tests" Swan's voice spoke next and Killian sighed in relief, she would help him.

"SWAN" he called out as loudly as he could

"Hook?" her puzzled voice replied then her head appeared round the door but the minute she saw him she was rushing into the room and kneeling by his side.

"What the hell? Killian you're freezing. Come on, let's get you back to bed"

He shook his head slightly about to voice the fact that he couldn't move but stopped when his world spun again and he closed his eyes giving a groan as his stomach rolled ominously.

"Do you feel sick?" he heard her ask quietly

"Aye" he sighed out as he pulled in some deep breaths trying to calm his gut.

"Hang on" she said rubbing his back gently before getting to her feet and rushing to the door, he could hear her speaking in a hushed tone.

"Henry can you go find Whale please, Hook's not feeling too well. Dad can you help me?"

Killian heard the room door close then David's worried voice.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure but we need to get him back to bed, he's freezing. God knows how long he's been in there"

Emma walked back in with his blanket in her hand which she draped across his shoulders for which he was thankful, it may be warm outside but he felt like he'd been on an expedition to Arendelle .

"You ready to try and get back to bed?" she asked quietly and he just gave her a smile as affirmation.

They pulled him back to his feet and Emma adjusted the blanket so that he was covered then they slowly walked their way back through to the other room. Getting back into bed was almost beyond Killian and in the end David and Emma practically lifted him in. He just flopped back onto his pillows with his eyes clamped shut against the spinning room as his blankets were quickly pulled up around his shoulders.

"Killian" Emma spoke quietly, his head was pounding again but he peeked an eye open to see her worried face by his side. "Stay awake, Henry's getting Whale. He'll sort you out"

Killian closed his eyes again with a groan, he knew that this was his own fault, Whale had tried to warn him that he was still too ill and he'd been right but all Killian wanted now was to sleep. He didn't want to have to face the Doc, he didn't want to be proved wrong.

"Hey, it'll be OK" Emma soothed as she brushed her fingers through his hair, it felt nice and he lent into her touch taking comfort from her while he could knowing she was probably about to be very annoyed at him in the next few seconds.

"My fault" he said with another shiver "Whale tried..."

He was cut off by Whale coming into the room and interrupting him.

"What happened?" Whale barked out as he rushed over to the bedside.

"I'm not sure, I found him in there when we came in. I don't know how long he's been in there but the air-con was on and he had no clothes on, I think he's got chilled. He's also complaining of feeling sick again. What could have caused this? I thought he was doing better."

"The nausea is quite a common symptom, it's caused by the swelling in his brain effecting his balance, essentially he's feeling sea sick"

"A Pirate that suffers from sea sickness, who would have thought" David chuckled but Emma tutted loudly at him stopping him.

"It shouldn't last, as the swelling goes it should clear up" Whale replied and Killian breathed an internal sigh of relief, he couldn't live like this, feeling sick whenever he moved.

Whale moved quickly tugging back Killian's blanket slightly and placing his stethoscope down on his chest but the nausea that had been threatening to surface chose that moment to manifest itself and Killian found himself lurching forward to try and reach the side of the bed so that he wasn't sick on the bed.

"Someone hold him steady, don't let him fall" he heard Whale call and seconds later someone was doing that just as his stomach rolled again, he hadn't eaten anything so there was nothing to come up but that didn't stop his stomach from clenching time and time again.

Once the sickness died down he was gently turned over to lie on his back but it would seem Whale wasn't done with him just yet as he shone a bright light in his eyes causing Killian to moan again and try to bring his hand up to bat the light away.

"Hook will you just lie still" Whale admonished in a harsh tone

"Hey, don't shout at him" Emma sounded angry and Killian felt her grip his hand

"Well if he had listened to me earlier this wouldn't be happening now" Whale grit back defending himself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" David asked in a mocking tone

"Look. Last night he pulled out his Catheter. I don't know what the hell he was playing at but I think he was out of bed too for some reason, He wouldn't give me a straight answer and when I tried to put the Catheter back in he threatened me. I tried to tell him he was still too ill and that he needed it but he wouldn't listen. There's only so much I can do when a patient refuses treatment"

There was silence for a few seconds and Killian thought that he was about to be in so much trouble but he was surprised when David turned on Whale instead.

"So what? He didn't want to be peeing into a bag so you left him alone to get himself to the bathroom. He's not exactly been thinking clearly, you know that. Did you even think to come in and check on him? How long did you leave him? Huh Whale? Did you even think to leave a bed pan? God, you call yourself a Doctor. Look at him, you did that. He needed you and you left him because of your stubborn pride."

Whale didn't answer and when Killian peeked open an eye he saw David looking ready to commit murder. Whale looked just as pissed and they stood facing each other both unwilling to back down. On any other day Killian would have been interested to see who would have won the fight but right now he just wanted this to be over, he just wanted to feel better. His head felt like it was going to explode and another long moan left his lips instead of the words he was trying to form but it had the right effect as Swan suddenly came to his rescue.

"Would you two stop... Whale will you just help him and we can discuss blame later"

Killian felt the oxygen mask being placed back over his mouth and if he'd had the strength he would have tried to pull it off but he didn't so it remained in place as he continued to take in harsh rasping breaths but finally a few minutes later he felt the effects of whatever Whale had injected into him starting to work as the pain in his head dulled, he gave a heavy sigh and peeked his eyes open again to see Swan still by his side.

"Go to sleep Killian" she whispered but as he lay there he suddenly realized that Henry was standing by the door

"Henry... Liam's award" he managed to rasp as his hand starting searching his blankets again, where had he put the award?

"I've got it here Hook but you need to sleep, this can wait." Swan whispered and took his hand pressing the award into it.

Killian gripped the leather tightly as his eyes moved to the Lad but they kept closing without permission and the last thing he heard before sleep took him was Henry's voice.

"It's OK Killian, I'll be here when you wake up just go to sleep, Mom's right you need to rest"

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She just held his hand in her's as he clutched onto the leather pouch. She watched as he finally let sleep take him and sighed to herself, why did everything have to be so hard? He had been so much better, why had Whale left him so long? This whole thing could have been avoided.

Emma looked up at the Doctor as he injected something else into Hook's IV line, adjusted the oxygen mask and reattached him to the heart rate monitor.

She was waiting until he finished before she spoke not trusting herself to keep calm but before she had a chance to say a word her Dad spoke.

"Whale, I want to speak to you. In the corridor NOW" David practically growled, he didn't hang about to wait on an answer he just walked out the door leaving the Doctor in the room.

Whale looked uncomfortable for a second but he gave a small cough, tugged on his shirt collar and walked out the door.

"Do you think Grandpa is going to punch him?" Henry asked with a grin

"Henry! No, your Grandpa is not going to punch him." Emma chuckled but when she suddenly heard raised voices from the corridor her smile dropped and she cringed "Well I hope your Grandpa's not going to punch him"

Henry just grinned wider and sat down on the seat next to her, she watched as his eyes moved to Hook and a little frown appeared on his face.

"Is Killian going to be OK?" he asked tilting his head slightly to look at her

"He's going to be just fine Henry." she replied with a smile "But I think we might need to bring him in some pajamas before he frightens one of the poor nurses half to death, what do you say Kid?"

Henry gave a chuckle of his own "Might be a good idea, me and Grandpa can pick some up when he comes back, I mean Killian's probably going to asleep for a while, right?"

"Sounds like a plan"

The voices outside the door were getting hard to ignore and just as Emma was about to say to Henry that they could also bring back lunch the door swung open.

"YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET THIS... YOU HACK" David yelled down the corridor

"Yeah? Sue me?" Whale's voice carried from down the corridor, he had obviously walked away but David didn't seem to want to let it go.

"YEAH? YOU'LL NOT BE SAYING THAT WHEN I COME BACK WITH A WARRANT, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH EVERYTHING... "

"Dad" Emma hissed "You're going to wake Hook up again, would you just get back in here"

He marched into the room and paced back and forth by the end of Hook's bed.

"Sorry Emma but that man is a fraud, who the hell in the their right mind would leave a man in ICU for that length of time by himself just because he wouldn't do what he wanted him to. I don't blame Hook, I wouldn't want to be peeing into a bag either"

"I know, I get it, I'm annoyed too but now is not the time. I think you need to calm down before you do anything. Why don't you and Henry go pick up some pajamas for Hook and maybe take some time. He's going to be sleeping for a while and I could do with some quiet to de-stress, you'll be doing me a favor plus it means that you can bring me back a grilled cheese" she finished with a grin

David stopped pacing and just stood with his hands on his hips breathing heavily.

"I swear one of these days I will punch that man but you're right, today is not that day." he gave a heavy sigh "Come on Henry, let's give these two some peace and quiet"

Henry stood up and lent in to hug Emma but as he pulled back his eyes were on Hook's hand.

"What's that?" he asked frowning slightly.

Emma fought hard to hide her smile

"You'll have to wait until Hook wakes up to ask him, I've not even seen what's in there so he might not want to share but you can ask"

"It must be something important to him for him to be holding it like that" but then he gasped and his eyes went wide in wonder "OR maybe it's treasure, you know diamonds and rubies"

"Maybe" Emma replied with a chuckle "Now would you two get outta here before you wake him up"

David came over and hugged her goodbye too and when they finally left her with her Pirate she felt exhausted. She lent back in her seat and closed her eyes and even though it wasn't even ten am she knew that she could easily sleep but her eyes opened again quickly when she heard Hook moving on the bed.

"Swan?" he mumbled furrowing his brow at her.

"Hey, it's OK. Go back to sleep, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere"

But he looked around the room and frowned further "Henry?"

"He's coming back don't worry, Dad's just taken him to get you some pajamas and to bring back lunch"

"Good" he breathed out as he closed his eyes again but after a few breaths he peeked an eye open again and frowned then asked "You alright Love?"

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well last night" she said squeezing his hand but she couldn't help it when she gave a yawn "Sorry, go back to sleep. I'll be fine"

But before she could stop him he shuffled over on the bed and tapped the mattress grinning widely at her through the oxygen mask.

"Come on Swan... you know you want to. You can't resist this body"

"Oh be still my beating heart" she laughed "Yeah, those spots are definitely doing it for me"

But he wouldn't give in and he reached up to tug the mask off leaving it around his neck "Come on Love, I've missed you"

Damn him, he knew exactly what to say to get what he wanted. She sighed bending down to take off her boots.

"OK, you win but you sleep. You need to remember that you're not well. I don't want a repeat of what happened earlier Hook, you scared me"

"Sorry" he whispered lowering his gaze and Emma was struck by the fact that he suddenly looked like a little boy who had been naughty and it tugged on her heart strings.

"Hey, it's OK. But just promise me that there'll be no more wandering about at night, Whale said you were out of bed. What were you doing?" she pulled herself up onto the mattress as she spoke and as she tucked herself into his side he brought his hand around her back to rest it on her waist.

"I was looking at the stars" he sighed into her hair then dropped a kiss onto the crown of her head

"I might have known" Emma chuckled "OK, here's a deal for you. You stop wandering around at night until you're better and we'll go stargazing together when you get out of here"

"Deal" he said without hesitation pulling her in closer.

She looked up at him and shifted sightly pulling the mask back up over his mouth.

"That stays on until Whale says it can come off." he sighed but she was glad to see he didn't argue.

She snuggled in closer to his side and let her hand settle on his chest, she had missed this too and with the steady beat of his heart in her ear she was lulled into a peaceful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**When I said this was nearly finished I may have exaggerated slightly, there's still a wee bit of fun still to come so don't be too sad.**

 **Award time :D**

 **That is all**

Henry ran ahead and pushed the door open but didn't go in, he just looked back and grinned widely at David as he raised a finger to his lips.

"Shhh... they're both sleeping"

David smirked to himself and shook his head slightly, he had known that Emma hadn't slept well last night. He'd heard her tossing and turning several times until she had finally given up and dragged herself down the stairs just before six to disappear into the shower for nearly an hour but when he stepped into the room he had not been expecting to find her curled up by her Pirate's side.

"Should we wake them? Mom's lunch is going get cold and I want to see Killian's face when he sees the pajamas we got him" Henry whispered

"Hey, I only paid for them, YOU chose them so you can be the one to give them to him, I'm having nothing to do with it" David whispered back as he placed the food down and crept up to the bedside but before he had a chance to wake Emma Hook opened a bleary eye and mumbled.

"Nothing to do with what?"

David chuckled "Oh you'll see. How you feeling?"

He watched as Hook opened his other eye, he seemed to take stock of himself before giving a stretch.

"Better, at least my head no longer feels like it's being used as a drum." he gave a slight chuckle but it turned into a cough which disturbed Emma who woke with a start.

"Hook? You alright?" she gasped sitting herself up only to notice David "Dad? When did you get back?"

"Just now, you want your lunch?" David asked as he watched her pull herself from the bed but she shook her head and fussed over Hook as he shifted back to the middle of the bed

"I'll get it in a second" she said glancing at him before she spoke to the Pirate again "You OK?"

"Aye Love... Eat before it gets cold" he replied as Emma adjusted the bed slightly so that he was sitting up straighter

She finally seemed satisfied then turned to David "God I'm starving, there better be onion rings in there or you might be going back out to get some" she added with a grin.

"What do you take me for? Of course there's onion rings." David laughed as he dug into the bag and pulled out her food before opening the bag back up and bringing out some soup for the Pirate.

"I got this, you don't need to eat it if you don't want to, I know you were feeling sick before but I didn't want to come back with nothing for you. I can take it home and heat it up later so don't feel you have to eat it if you aren't up to it"

But David was happy to see Hook pull the mask back and lick his lips slightly as he watched him intently

"I'll give it a go but these blisters in my mouth have been causing issues so I'm not sure how much I'll manage"

"Not a problem, just eat what you can" David replied putting the carton down on the wheeled table and pushing it down the bed so that Hook could easily reach it.

In the end Hook ended up eating most of the soup before he finally put his spoon down with a sigh and David took the carton away leaving a cup of water in it's place.

"Thank you" Hook said with another small cough and David could tell that he still felt rough but he wanted to keep things normal, he didn't want to keep asking Hook if he was alright all the time.

"Don't get used to it" David chuckled instead.

The smile fell from his face as the door opened literally two seconds later and Whale walked in looking like he was ready to run for his life if he had to but Hook's hand suddenly gripping onto David's arm had him looking back to the bed in surprise.

"Don't." was all Hook said with a slight shake of his head

Whale walked up to the bedside avoiding David's eye line and spoke to Hook directly in a cool tone.

"You should have that oxygen mask on, not hanging around your neck"

"For God sake Whale, he was just eating some soup. What? Is he supposed to eat it through the plastic?"

Whale clamped his jaw closed and carried on like he hadn't heard him and David silently fumed inside as the Doctor started checking Hook's vitals.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he started taking Hook's blood pressure

"Good" Hook answered with another sigh

"I take it you no longer feel sick, you seem to have managed the soup... even though I would probably have waited until tomorrow to start you on something light"

David's pulse quickened, he clenched his fist at his side getting ready to make a move if the Doc made one more smart remark but Hook surprised him

"Bloody Hell Mate would you just get over it already. I'm sorry alright? I should have listened to you, is that what you want to hear? I should have stayed in my bed but I didn't, I thought I knew better but believe me when I say that I learned my lesson. If you say that this bloody thing needs to stay on my face it will stay on my face but I am still not letting you near me with that bag thing, it is undignified and quite frankly I'd rather gouge out my own eyes than use that thing again."

Whale sighed then shook his head slightly as if arguing with himself before finally looking back at Hook

"OK you win BUT you do not get out of that bed by yourself, you hear me? I will leave a bed pan" he paused glancing over at David briefly with what seemed to be a guilty look before carrying on "Your balance will take some time to come back so DO NOT push it. I have given you something that should help with the nausea but if you push it you will make yourself sick again. IF you are getting up to use the bathroom make sure that someone has a good hold on you and you are steady on your feet before moving, the last thing I need is to have to stitch you back up because you've fallen over."

"Thanks Doc" Hook smiled, he was looking tired again and David stepped forward to help him as he struggled to bring the oxygen mask back up over his mouth but he stopped when Whale spoke again.

"I think you're OK to take that off if you want to, as long as you take it easy you should be fine" Whale looked like he thought David was about to yell at him again and David knew that they all had to get past this tension, it couldn't carry on.

"Look, I'm not saying that what you did was acceptable BUT if Hook can put it aside so can I but if you EVER do anything like that to him again I will come down on you like you would not believe, got it?"

Whale just looked uncomfortable for a minute then nodded "Sure... I suppose I deserved that."

"Yeah, you did" David replied but when Emma threw him a dangerous look he put his hands up in fake surrender and stepped back from the bed as Whale pulled Hook's oxygen mask off and set it to one side.

"OK, I'm going to leave you now but I'll get someone to bring you in a gown, if you're going to be getting out of bed you'll need it"

"It's OK, we brought him in some pajamas" Henry suddenly cried as he slid from his chair and grabbed the bag that they'd brought in from under the end of the bed and brought it up to Hook's side.

"OK, well I'll be back in a couple of hours, I'm going to go and see if I can find you a bed on the ward so that we can get you moved in the morning" and with that he walked from the room

"Ass" David muttered but Emma dug him in the ribs and he supposed she was right, he had been the one to admit that they needed to move on so he gave her a smile and changed the subject "OK Pirate, these were chosen by Henry, I had NOTHING to do with it"

Hook frowned deeply as Henry passed over the paper bag with a wide grin.

"You chose them?" Hook asked cautiously as he opened up the top of the bag and peered in, his frown fell deeper obviously unable to see the pajamas inside properly, he glanced up at Henry and gave a slight smile at the Kid's happy face before sticking his hand in and pulling the pajamas out. David expected Hook to act happy for the sake of Henry, to pretend that he was OK with them but as he laid the pajama top out on his lap he burst out laughing.

"The Wookie" Hook grinned then chuckled "Good choice Lad, as long as I don't need to wear a sack on my head I should be fine "

"Wait, you know Chewbacca?" David asked, totally confused. When the hell had Hook watched Star Wars?

"Who doesn't Mate, he and Han Solo have some pretty good battle strategies...although I much prefer my ship to theirs" Hook grinned as he started trying to pull the top over his head.

Emma stood up and helped him and when it was finally on he lent back and grinned again

"Thank you Lad. Now I have something for you" he looked to Emma with a suddenly serious face and David watched as Emma tugged the leather pouch out from under the pillows on the bed and handed it over to the Pirate.

"What is it?" Henry asked excitedly "Is it treasure?"

"It's better than treasure Henry." Hook replied holding the the pouch tightly, he gave a sigh and looked up at Henry through his lashes "As you know I once had a Brother"

"Liam" Henry said with a nod

"Aye Lad, Liam. After our Father abandoned us we were both enlisted into the Navy. I was only about eight years old and a bit frightened of life but Liam, Liam was different...he kept me safe. If I had not had my Brother I would never have survived that life, it was tough but Liam always looked out for me, often going hungry so that I could eat. He was brave beyond words... he was my hero."

"I'm sorry" Henry whispered looking at Hook with a sad face but Hook drew in a deep breath and gave a smile

"It was a long time ago Lad but the point I am trying to make is that Liam always knew what to do when things went wrong, he had a natural ability to be that hero and you have it too Henry. You saved all of us. You were faced with an impossible situation. You were left here all by yourself but you didn't give up on us. You found your way to that other place and even when I... well the other me... even when he wouldn't listen to you you didn't give up. You took on Black Beard, you practically sailed the Jolly by yourself then you made a plan and executed it perfectly and we freed your Mother from that damned tower. Henry if it were not for you we'd all still be stuck there, I'd still be a deck hand on my own bloody ship and what's worse than that is the fact that I'd be drinking goats milk and bloody well enjoying it!"

They all laughed at that but it didn't last as Hook carried on.

"Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that for many years my Brother was my hero but now... Henry, you are my hero. You inspire me, you make me want to be a better person and most of all you accept me for who I am so I want you to have this"

Hook held out the pouch and Henry looked at him nervously

"It's not going to bite you Lad" Hook chuckled

With a laugh Henry stepped forward and took the pouch, he held it briefly just grinning before looking at it. David stepped forward so that he could see better, he was still very curious to see what was in there but he was not prepared for the sight that met him when Henry finally tipped the pouch and the award fell out into his hand. It was beautiful beyond words and made from what looked like solid gold!

"Coooooooooooool" Henry gasped in awe as he held the award up to show Emma but when he flipped it over he practically yelled "IT'S GOT MY NAME ON IT MOM, LOOK"

Emma giggled "I can see that Kid. It's awesome and you deserve it"

Henry just stood staring at the coin in his hand before he suddenly frowned and looked back at Hook.

"Did this really belong to Liam?"

"Aye Lad, you can see his name there can't you? He was given it after a particularly bloody battle with the Kraken"

"HE FOUGHT THE KRAKEN?" Henry yelled again, the. Kid was far to excitable

"And won. Not many people can say that now can they Lad?" Hook chuckled but David could see he was tiring fast, he looked happier than David had seen him in a while but they had to remember what Whale had said, he shouldn't over do things.

"Come on Kid, we can go and show Grandma. I told her we'd pick her up about now. We need to let Hook get some rest you heard what Whale said"

Henry gave David a quick smile then lent over the bed and hugged Hook, the Pirate did his best not to look uncomfortable and when Henry pulled back he gave the Kid a wide smile.

"Thanks Killian, I love it."

"You're welcome Lad" Hook said with a smile "Liam would be proud to know that it has gone to someone with his spirit, just... just promise me you will look after it"

"I will, I promise" Henry replied sincerely

"Come on Kid" David said placing his hand on Henry's shoulder and steering him towards the door but before he left David spoke to Hook.

"You didn't have to do that you know but I'm glad you did, thank you"

Hook just smiled at him as he lay back on his pillows, the pajama pants still lay across the bed and David chuckled as he raised an eyebrow

"I suggest you put those on while we're gone. I think Mary-Margaret would appreciate it if we're to get you on your feet when we get back."

"Please, she'd love to see what I've got under here" Hook scoffed

"HOOK! For one that's my Mom you are speaking about and two my Son is in the room!" Emma slapped her hand down on Hook's arm and for a split second David was sure that he saw the Pirate smirk but then it was gone.

"Sorry Love, I know my jewels are for your eyes only" he said with a straight face but then grinned and threw Emma a cheeky wink

"You are unbelievable, I give in" Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed the pajama pants as David pushed a laughing Henry out the door.

"He's gonna be in so much trouble" Henry giggled as he continued turning the award over in his hand "This is pretty awesome, I mean I love the award that the Fairies gave me but this is different, this is special"

"Yeah Kid, just like you" David threw his arm around Henry's shoulders and pulled him in close as they walked out into the parking lot. David grinned to himself as the sun hit him, it was a beautiful day and he had the best Grandson in all of the realms.

 **As always, please review**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back.**

 **Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, I meant to give you warning and forgot.**

 **I was off celebrating my Birthday :D**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

Killian was moved to the ward early the next morning before Swan had even arrived, he was tired after having had a rough night of tossing and turning as sleep evaded him. He'd been worrying about this very scenario and it would seem that he had been right to do so as he found himself sharing the ward with three other men, all of whom seemed to think he was something to be stared at and whispered about.

Killian was hating every minute of this, it was just too damn impersonal and there was no privacy. While it was true that Killian had spent a large part of his life sleeping in the bunk room with the crew of the Jewel of the Realm he had become more accustomed to the quiet that his Captain's quarters had brought him and now he found himself wishing with all his heart that he could be there now.

The old man that was in the bed that sat directly opposite him kept staring and even though Killian had started off by smiling pleasantly at him he was now getting ready to growl as the man continued to eye him with a look of contempt.

He sighed heavily, Gods how much longer was he going to have to be in this hell hole? And why was it so damn hot in here?

Killian shifted on his bed to lie on his side so that he could stare out of the window, it also meant that his back to the others and that's just the way he wanted it. He had thrown his blankets back in a vain hope that it would be a bit cooler but he was still sweating heavily as the small fan by his bedside swiveled back and forth making no difference what so ever.

He sighed again when he saw the sun blazing outside, what he wouldn't do to be out there right now. Maybe even enjoying one of those ice cream things that Henry enjoyed so much but he wasn't, he was stuck inside this damned place slowly baking from the inside out.

Killian's head thrummed persistently, Whale had promised that he would be back with some pain meds but that was over half an hour ago and although Killian knew he could ask one of the nurses for help he just couldn't bring himself to talk... it would take too much effort.

Purely for the fact that he had nothing else to do he closed his eyes but just as he started to nod off someone was poking him awake.

"Morning Mr Jones" the Nurse's shrill voice cut through him and he groaned but she either didn't care or she hadn't noticed his discomfort as she carried on "I've got your meds here and breakfast will be here shortly so why don't we get you sitting up a bit?"

"Leave me alone" he mumbled closing his eyes again

"Now come on, you'll feel better once you've eaten something" she was too damn happy for this ungodly hour but Killian just sighed knowing that she wouldn't give up until he did what she wanted, it was easier to just comply so he turned himself back over and accepted the meds with a fake smile.

He tossed the pills down his throat dry and lent back on his pillows to see the old man still staring.

"What's his problem?" Killian muttered more to himself than anyone else but the nurse looked across at the other bed then turned back to him with a wide smile, she lent in close and whispered.

"Don't worry about him, he's just sore that he's not getting to stay. He used to be a butler for a posh old lady with a houseful of cats but he got caught trying to steal her fortune, horrible old man. Somewhere along the line he was bitten by some dogs and the bites got infected but he's been laying it on thick for days now, he should be heading back to jail in a couple of days so don't waste anytime on him" she threw Killian a wink then walked off towards the other bed.

"OK Edgar, leave Mr Jones be. He's ill and doesn't need you bothering him"

"He's ill? HE'S ILL?! What about me? I'm ill too but do you believe me? No. You just want to pack me off to prison where you won't need to bother with me, well thank you very much" the man's high pitched English accent cut through Killian's already sore head and it was the last straw when Edgar drew in a breath to carry on with his rant.

"WILL YOU BE QUIET" Killian roared sending a ripple of murmurs out from the other people in the room but his fight left him when the man clamped his mouth shut in surprise "My bloody head is killing me, will you just hold your damn tongue" he added with a growl.

The man in the bed beside Killian suddenly found his voice.

"Yeah Edgar, we're sick and tired of you so I suggest that you do as the Captain says and be quiet"

Killian watched as Edgar's brow furrowed "Captain?" he asked in wonder.

The other man laughed and raised an eyebrow "You don't know who he is do you?"

Edgar didn't answer but Killian could tell that he didn't when he eyed him suspiciously again as the other man answered his own question.

"This is Killian Jones, otherwise known as Captain Hook" he finished with a grin as Edgar's mouth fell open.

"THE Captain Hook" Edgar asked in awe

"Aye... THE Captain Hook so if you would be so kind I would appreciate a little quiet" Killian breathed out closing his eyes again. He assumed that Edgar had taken heed of his request as there was no more talking but the silence didn't remain when the breakfast trolley was wheeled in a few minutes later and Killian's eyes popped open again at the clatter of dishes being served.

A bowl of something that he assumed was supposed to be oatmeal was placed down in front of him but he just stared at it unwilling to even attempt to eat it. He was done, he needed to get out of here otherwise he was going to go insane but this thought was pushed from his head as Swan walked into the room and made her way over to his bedside. She was smiling widely but the minute her eyes fell on him she gasped, sat down quickly and grabbed his hand.

"Hook? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine Love just a little tired"

"You look awful, is your head still hurting you?"

Killian sighed and chose not to answer, if he lied she would know but he just couldn't bring himself to worry her so he avoided instead.

"Where's your Father?" he asked looking passed her to see if David was anywhere in sight.

"He'll be in later, he had to head to the station first" she still wore a worried look as she brought her hand up and cupped his cheek. "You look tired, why don't you get some sleep"

"I bloody wish, I've been trying since I was brought here but it's just too damn noisy. When can I get out of here Swan? I'm hot, I'm tired and I've bloody well had enough of the whole damn place"

She gave him a sad smile "I'll go ask Whale, why don't you try and sleep. Do you want me to pull the curtain?"

"Curtain?" Killian asked with a frown as he looked at the window, there was no curtain!

"Yeah" Swan replied standing up. She walked around the bed and pulled out a curtain that he hadn't noticed next to the wall, she walked right around the bed cutting the rest of the room from view. The curtain was not very think but it dulled the bright sunshine just enough to help with his head and Killian sighed in relief.

"Thank you Love"

"Sleep" she said leaning over and kissing his forehead sweetly "And don't worry, I'll get Dad to bring you in something to eat, THAT is not oatmeal"

He gave a chuckle at her as she picked up the bowl and peered in it curling her lip in disgust before putting it back down on the table

"I'll not be long"

With that she was gone as she pushed through the curtain, he could hear her boots clacking across the floor and he gave another sigh. The curtain may have cut out some of the light but there was nothing that could be done about the noise.

Killian closed his eyes again, he could feel the medication starting to work as the thrum in his head died down a bit, when would these headaches go away? He lay trying to sleep knowing in his heart that it wasn't going to happen but when Swan came back through the curtain he kept his eyes closed pretending to be at peace, she would only worry more than was necessary if she knew that he was still awake and in the end sleep took him without him realizing it as Emma held his hand and stroked her fingers back and forth across his knuckles.

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David arrived a little after eleven to find Emma reading a book and Hook sleeping soundly behind the curtain around his bed.

"How's he doing?" he whispered nodding his head at the Pirate

"Not too good, he's struggling with being on the ward already" Emma whispered back putting her book to one side "He's already asking when he can leave, I spoke to Whale and he's saying at least another week. I'm worried about him Dad, he seems to be really down. I don't want him feeling like that, he was doing so well."

David just nodded his head. He knew exactly how Hook felt, he had felt the same way after he had first woken from his coma but at least he had been allowed to go outside.

"Hey, here's an idea. How about when he wakes up we commandeer a wheelchair and take him for a spin outside"

"I'm not sure Dad, his head's still bothering him" Emma pulled a face showing he wasn't convinced it was a good idea

"I've got sunglasses he can borrow, come on Emma, it might be just what he needs" David was convinced he was right but Emma still didn't look convinced.

"When do we leave?" Hook mumbled opening an eye as he stretched on his bed looking to David as he gave a long yawn.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Emma asked in a worried tone

"Swan, I am more than ready. Please Love, I just need to feel something other than the searing heat of this bloody room"

"He's right Emma, it's like an oven in here."

"Alright, alright... you win" she said with a sigh

David grinned "Great, I'll go grab a chair and let Whale know what's going on." he turned to Hook and handed over the takeout bag from Granny's over "Here, I got you some breakfast. Eat then we'll go"

David was glad to see Hook sit himself up and open the bag but when the Pirate looked up at him he gave a scowl

"What are you waiting for Mate? Go get the chair... I don't want to miss any more of the day than I have to"

With that he took a large spoonful of eggs and jammed it in his mouth.

 **Exactly half an hour later...**

Hook hid his stump using the blanket across his lap as David wheeled him down one of the paths towards the lake, the short sleeves of his pajama top not being enough to cover it but the Pirate had a smile spread across his face. He had his head tipped back allowing the warm sun to beat down on him and David couldn't help laughing at the sight of him wearing his sunglasses.

"I wish I'd had some of these dark glasses in years gone by, they would have come in handy after a night of drinking rum"

David laughed but Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Really? After everything you've been through you're still thinking about drinking?"

"Love, I'm a Pirate. Rum comes with the job description" Hook replied with a laugh and David was happy to see Emma laugh too.

"Take me over there Mate, under that tree" Hook said pointing at the large willow tree right by the water's edge

"Yes Boss" David chuckled but he pushed the Pirate over anyway.

"Can you help me up Love?" Hook asked raising an arm once they had stopped.

"Hook, I'm not sure that's a good idea"

"Don't worry Swan, I just want to sit on the grass for a while"

Emma looked relieved stepping forward to help Hook to his feet, his movements were definitely getting better and in no time at all after David had laid the blanket down Emma was lowering the Pirate down to the ground. There was a lot of shuffling but after a few minutes Emma sat leaning against the tree truck and Hook lay back in her arms with a smile on his face. With the dark glasses David couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not but after a few seconds he got his answer.

"I know my body is hard to resist Mate but it is just strange with Emma sitting right here"

David chuckled and plonked himself down into the wheelchair before hitting back

"Yeah yeah... I can barely control myself"

They sat in silence for a while just enjoying the summer day and before too long the soft sounds of Hook's heavy breathing reached David's ears.

"He sleeping?" he asked in a whisper

Emma just nodded with a smile on her face as David pulled himself to his feet

"I'm gonna go and grab some stuff, we can have a picnic lunch before he's due back in for his meds." He stretched his back as he stood facing the pair "He's going to be fine Emma, a week will go by in no time"

"I hope so, I hate seeing him like he was earlier. I'm all for the brooding Pirate look but not when he's covered in spots and he's genuinely down. I just hope that he sleeps better tonight"

"Me too Kid, me too"


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you all for your kind Birthday wishes, I had a great day :D**

 **It's all getting a bit too much for our poor Pirate, what will he do?**

The cool breeze on his face and the smell of Swan's perfume were all Killian needed in that moment, he let out a contented sigh as he woke from his dream just lying with his eyes closed appreciating the fact that he was no longer trapped in that damned bed. He could still feel the slight pain in his head but it was so much better than it had been that he couldn't really complain but on the other hand his itch seemed to have come back with vengeance. He usually tried hard not to scratch knowing that he'd just make it worse but as he woke he did it unconsciously then instantly regretted it as the itch only grew.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" David chuckled by his side and Killian couldn't help it when he bit back.

"Well you're not so leave me be" but when he opened his eyes it was to see David kneeling on the blanket, he had obviously stopped what he was doing as he seemed to be half way to putting down a plate of sandwiches. "Sorry" Killian sighed as he immediately regretted taking his own mistake out on the Prince.

"No worries. Are they itching badly?" David asked cautiously

"I'll survive" Killian answered trying to sit himself up. Emma lent a hand and as he looked around himself he could see that David had laid out a whole picnic. "You didn't have to do this"

"I know but I thought that we may as well take advantage of the weather, it's not supposed to last much longer"

Killian managed to eat a little but in all honesty he wasn't that hungry, the nausea that kept hitting him when he moved too quickly had mostly taken his appetite.

"You done?" Emma asked furrowing her brow

"Aye, thank you Love"

"You sure? You've not had very much"

"I'm sure, I'm just not very hungry" he said trying to lie himself back down on the blanket, his head was starting to hurt again and the whole sitting up thing was making his world spin a bit.

"Here, lie on me" Emma said scooting to the side and settling him down so that his head lay on her leg.

He closed his eyes taking in a few deep breaths trying to settle his gut and after a few it seemed to work as the feeling died down. He dozed for a while, when he woke it was to find Emma stroking his hair, it felt good but his headache was starting to build again and he knew nothing but more of those damned pills would take it away so it was with great annoyance that he mumbled.

"Can we go back now?"

"Uhm sure... you OK?" Emma's fingers trailed down his face and he wished with all his heart that he could just stay here but he knew he couldn't.

"Head hurts" was all he replied but it was enough as David started packing up the remaining food quickly.

"Come on Pirate, let's get you back in the wheelchair. Emma can you manage to take him back in by yourself? I want to go ahead and talk to Whale, see if I can have his meds ready for when he gets back"

Killian could have hugged the man.

"Of course, you go. Thanks Dad"

"Aye, Thanks Mate" Killian mumbled as David helped him sit back in the chair.

A few minutes later he was being pushed back into the hot ward and that was it for him, he's had enough. His head hurt, he was too hot and the noise of the ward was unbearable as everyone seemed to have visitors that were all talking at once.

Emma helped him get back in his bed and a few minutes later David was coming back in with his pills in a small plastic cup. Killian swallowed them down then turned onto his side once more and closed his eyes.

"You OK?" Emma's whispered by his ear and he knew he had to answer her, none of this was her fault but he was in no mood to converse.

"Tired" was all he said keeping his eyes closed, his head was pounding now and his stomach was rolling again. He just hoped that if he lay still both would pass and in the end he had been right to do so as he started to feel better but sleep still evaded him and the good mood that he had been in earlier while lying outside was gone.

He knew he was being childish but he just lay with his eyes closed refusing to acknowledge the others, he didn't know if they thought he was asleep or not and quite frankly right now he didn't care, he just wanted this whole thing to be over. He wanted to leave but he knew that if he did his headache would only return and without the medication that this place supplied he'd be back in this bloody bed within a day. He huffed out a sigh and turned over pulling one of his legs out from under the blanket... damned heat, at this rate he'd be a puddle by morning.

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"This can't carry on Dad" Emma said in a whisper as she stroked her fingers through Hook's hair.

They were just getting ready to leave for the night but Emma was worried, Hook had slept... or pretended to sleep since they had arrived back from being outside. He only briefly talked to her when his dinner was brought in but he had just picked at the food eventually pushing it away and closing his eyes again with a sigh.

"I don't know what we can do about it Emma, I already spoke to Whale and he said there are no private rooms available. Maybe we can bring in some headphones or something, I don't know, maybe it would help?" David shrugged at her

"Maybe" Emma sighed in response before leaning over and kissing Hook's forehead "See you in the Morning"

He didn't answer, she knew he wouldn't even though she was pretty sure he was awake but she understood, he just wanted to be left alone and she couldn't blame him. If it were her lying there she would probably be feeling the same.

She was thinking hard as they walked down the corridor, she needed to find a solution so this. She wanted more than anything to stay with Hook but he had made it clear that he wanted to be left alone so she'd give him time but if this carried on she would have to try and think of a way to break his mood... yeah, that was gonna be fun.

She wanted to take him home more than anything else in the world and the more she thought about it she began to think that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. He wasn't attached to any machines now, she could make sure he took his meds properly and she could also keep an eye out for any signs of complications from both the pneumonia and the encephalitis, Whale had already told her what to look out for.

She stopped abruptly, this might just work. Hell if she had to sign him out AMA she'd do it, it had to be better than this. At least at home he would be able to rest and she was pretty sure that he would appreciate the portable air-con unit that she'd bought earlier in the week.

"What?" David asked coming to a halt next to her.

"I want to take him home Dad"

"Emma" David shook his head obviously thinking it wasn't a good idea.

"Dad, he's miserable. He can't sleep, he's hot and he's having to share a ward with a bunch of geriatrics, I can't stand it" she threw her hands out in frustration.

"OK" David sighed

"OK? You mean OK, yes we can take him home with us?"

"No, I'm saying OK, let's go talk to Whale and see what he says. The Doc might not have the best bedside manner but he knows what he's talking about. If he says that it's possible then we'll talk about it but I'll need to talk to your Mom, you know that right?"

Emma grinned "Thanks Dad, let's go find him"

But Emma's happiness was short lived when it turned out that Whale was in surgery and couldn't be disturbed.

"Hey, we'll just talk to him the morning. It'll give me a chance to talk to your Mom anyway" David said as pulled her into a hug.

"I just want him to feel better Dad"

"I know" he soothed rubbing her back.

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Killian lay staring at the ceiling as Edgar's snores resonated around the room, he had tried everything to block it out even sticking his head under his pillow at one point but that hadn't lasted long with the unbearable heat. The curtain had been pulled around the bed again, he assumed that Swan must have done it before she left and he was grateful for the privacy but it meant he had no clue what time it was as the clock was hidden from view. He knew it was late... or early depending on how you looked upon it as it was still very dark outside. The moon was waning gibbous and shone brightly through the glass at him, the nurse had left a few minutes earlier after giving him his medication but before she had gone she had winked at him before throwing the window open wide saying

"Shhhh, don't tell anyone. We're not supposed to leave the windows open at night but it might help cool you down a bit"

Killian sighed as he looked at the night sky, he felt himself start to relax as he focused on the constellations that he could just about make out from his position but just as his eyes were sliding closed Edgar grunted, muttered something about a motorbike and a sidecar, whatever the hell they were then went back to snoring loudly.

"Bloody hell" Killian growled as he pulled himself upright.

He adjusted the bed so he was sitting up knowing that sleep was not going to happen anytime soon as the snores around him only grew when another of the men joined in.

Gods, if only he could find the peace and quiet that he had found earlier that day when he had been lying in Swan's arms. He turned his head to the side and stared longingly at the outside world, what he wouldn't do to be out there now... wait a minute, he could be out there now!

He looked around him quickly realizing that he was hidden from view. He knew that the room was on the ground floor, surely it wouldn't be that hard to get out that window. He could be back in a few hours and no one would be any the wiser.

He grinned to himself as he pulled back his blankets and shuffled to the edge of the bed. He struggled to his feet using the table to balance himself before shuffling his way across the short distance. He peered out the open window to see that there was a drop of about eight feet to the ground, he chewed his lip, was this really a good idea? But Edgar yelling again in his sleep sealed the deal for him and the next thing he knew he had pulled one of the chairs over and he was hauling himself up on to the window sill. He paused briefly taking in a few deep breaths before he tried to lower himself as far as possible, this would have been so much easier if he'd had his hook and even more so if he's had boots on his feet but he could only work with what he had so he just got on with it.

Before he knew it he was hanging by his one hand with both feet planted firmly on the wall when a sudden thought hit him. How was he going to get back in? It was too high just to climb back through! Deciding that he didn't care he looked down below one more time then let go only to crumble to the ground with a thump as his legs failed to keep him upright. His head clattered into the pathway and spun dramatically, then to make things worse his stomach lurched dangerously but after a few minutes both settled and Killian managed to open his eyes glad to see that he had not been seen. He could feel blood trickling down the side of his face from a cut above his left eyebrow but it wasn't going to stop him as he slowly pulled himself to his unsteady feet. He pulled in one last deep breath and started shuffling his way down the path towards the lake, stopping every few paces to let his breathing settle.

The moon was bright enough for him to be able to follow the path with ease but after a few minutes he found himself walking on the grass instead after he had stumbled for the fourth time, the rough surface was tearing the skin from his feet and the grass was so much softer . It took him much longer than it had in the wheeled chair but eventually he was lowering himself down onto the grass under the willow tree with a sigh. He closed his eyes as he settled back on the mossy grass and just listened to the sounds around him, the tree swished in the breeze and the water lapped on the shore a few feet away. The dull ache of his headache was still there but the quiet around him helped and within minutes he was sleeping soundly unaware that his empty bed had just been discovered by a now very irate Doctor Whale.

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Emma's cell ringing tore her from her dreams, what the hell?

"This better be important" she muttered as she reached across and grabbed the cell "Emma Swan"

"Miss Swan it's Doctor Whale, we have a problem"

Emma was sitting upright in a split second.

"What happened? Is Hook alright?"

"It would seem that he was feeling more than alright. From the look of it he's climbed out of the window"

"WHAT? How the hell did he manage that?"

"I'm not sure of the logistics but... Miss Swan, I found blood on the ground"

"I'm on my way"

Emma was up and pulling on clothes in seconds, she wasn't being quiet either and cringed to herself as Henry's muffled voice came from his bed.

"Mom? What's going on?"

"Sorry Kid, I didn't mean to wake you" she answered sitting down on the bed to pull on her boots.

"What's wrong?" he asked coming up on to his elbows and frowning at her

"Hopefully nothing, Hook's just wandered away from his bed. I'm sure it's nothing" she smiled at him sweetly forcing herself to calm down, she didn't need Henry worrying too "Go back to sleep, it's still early"

"Kay" he mumbled as he turned over and snuggled back down into his pillow.

Emma grabbed the keys to the bug then headed down the stairs only to come face to face with her Dad.

"What's he done?" David asked pulling on his shirt, already fully dressed

"Climbed out the window, I knew I shouldn't have left him there." she glanced up the stairs making sure that Henry was still in bed before lowering her voice "Whale found blood on the ground Dad, what the hell did he think he was doing?"

"Let's just find him first then you can ask him yourself" David said rubbing her arm "Come on, I'll drive. Where do you want to start looking?"

"The Jolly?"

"Do you think he would get that far? He's still quite unstable on his feet."

"He was stable enough to get out the damn window" Emma grit out as she searched her brain for anything that would be helpful then an image of him sleeping soundly with a slight smile on his face under the willow tree by the lake popped into her head and she had her answer. "The lake!"

"Good call, let's go"

Emma was just starting to think that this might not be as bad as she first thought when she pulled the door open to step outside only to find that it was starting to rain... hard.

"Get in the truck" David yelled above the noise of the rain hitting the ground

"God Dad, he's going to be soaked to the skin"

"Well we better move then"

With that David slammed his foot down and the truck lurched forward taking them towards the hospital.

Emma chewed her lip as she sent out a silent prayer.

Please just let him be OK.

 **As always please review :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**Will they find Hook?**

 **And more importantly will he be alright if they do?**

David didn't care that he was tearing up the grass he just put his foot down harder as they fishtailed their way down towards the lake. The rain was torrential now and he wanted to find that idiotic Pirate as quickly as possible... then he was going to kill him.

"The tree's over there... I can't see him" Emma turned to him with worried eyes "God Dad, where is he if he's not here?"

David tried to give her a hopeful smile "We'll find him, try not to..."

"DAD!" Emma screamed grabbing the steering wheel and yanking hard, David looked back just in time to see Hook sitting on the grass right in front of them with his arms up trying to shield himself from the lights of the truck with a look of total horror on his face.

David veered off to the right, the truck skidded and slithered it's way to a halt taking much longer than David would have liked but at least he hadn't flipped it. Emma jumped out the instant they stopped leaving the door wide open but David couldn't move. That had been far too close, he'd only looked away for a split second but he'd nearly... God, he'd nearly hit Hook.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly in his hands, knuckles turning white as the adrenalin still coursed through his veins but Emma's voice calling to him brought him back to his senses. David threw the door open and was squelching his way across the grass towards Emma and her Pirate in seconds. The rain battered down around them and the noise of it hitting the lake was almost deafening causing them to have to yell at other just to be heard.

"HELP ME GET HIM IN THE TRUCK" Emma motioned for him to take the Pirate's other arm and they pulled him to his feet.

It was still dark and the truck headlamps were facing away from them but even in the low light David could see that the man was covered in mud. He could feel Hook shivering too as he slung the Pirate's arm around his shoulder and started moving quickly towards the truck but they only managed to go a few paces before Hook was trying to stop them. What was he saying? David leant in trying to hear him above the rain but in the next second it became only too clear what Hook had been trying to tell them when the Pirate lurched forward and puked onto the grass.

They stopped briefly until he was done but there was no time for pleasantries, they had to get him out of the wet so as soon as his stomach settled they were moving again coming around to the passenger side of the truck, Emma climbed in first then practically hauled Hook in after her. David slammed the door closed then ran around the truck and rummaged beneath the seats to pull out the woolen blanket that he kept there and threw it at Emma before climbing back in himself.

"Get him out of that wet gear" and although it wasn't that cold outside David blasted the heating in the truck, Hook was still recovering from pneumonia and had been out in the rain for far too long, he was soaked to the skin and shivering badly, David knew that this was not good. He took one last look at his Daughter as she worked furiously at his side before he hit the gas again and gunned the engine heading back up the hill towards the main entrance.

"S-s-s-sor-r-ry Love" Hook practically whispered as Emma stripped him out of his wet pajamas

"Shhhh don't talk, it's OK. Here, lean forward" Emma brought the blanket around Hook's back before turning in her seat and pulling him into her arms trying to get him warm as quickly as possible.

David caught a glimpse of the Pirate's face and could see a nasty cut above his eye, what had the idiot been thinking? But his anger was replaced by worry as Hook groaned again and began struggling out of Emma's arms just as David was pulling the truck up to the doors.

"Hey, it's OK. We've stopped now, take some deep breaths" Emma soothed rubbing her hand on his back as he leant forward trying to calm his stomach but David didn't hang about to see if the Pirate won his battle or not he just jumped out of the truck and ran through the door.

"I need a wheel chair over here" He yelled and Whale turned around in surprise as he stood talking to a nurse by the main reception desk.

"You've found him?" he asked immediately running forward

"Yeah, he was soaked to the skin, cold and seems to have hit his head" David shot back

"Forget the chair, someone bring a gurney" Whale called over his shoulder as they ran out into the parking lot.

Whale pulled the door open and was immediately checking over Hook who was packed onto the gurney quickly and whisked back into the hospital. They were all in the treatment room five minutes later where things seemed to have calmed down a bit after the initial flurry of activity.

"Can we have another blanket on him?" Whale asked the nurse to his left calmly before turning back to the Pirate. "Care to explain why you chose to climb out of the window?"

"Not really" Hook grumbled

"Look I get it" Whale sighed in a resigned tone "The ward is not the quietest place on the planet but I have tried to get you a side room, there are just none available. The last thing I want is for one of my patients to be suffering unnecessarily but I'm not a miracle worker and you are just making my job harder"

"Whale's right" David said stepping forward, he couldn't believe that he was actually agreeing with the Doctor but he was angry, did Hook not realize how worried Emma was when they found out he was missing "Emma was worried sick Hook and besides the fact that you've done yourself more damage than good I nearly killed you with my truck tonight all because you thought it was a good idea to sneak out of your bed"

Hook just closed his eyes with a heavy sigh

"I'm sorry alright... I'm sorry."

And David knew that they had lost him again, he had just witnessed the Pirate close himself down and no matter what anybody said David knew they would get no more answers.

The silence was deafening as David and Emma just stood watching as Whale first cleaned then stitched the gash on Hook's head before moving to the bottom of the bed to clean and tape up the several cuts that David had seen on the soles of the Pirate's feet. The minute Whale walked away from Hook's head Emma moved in and David could hear her talking quietly.

"Hey, talk to me. I'm not pissed. I'm just worried about you"

It seemed to be the right thing as Hook opened his eyes and gave her a tired smile.

"I really am sorry Love"

"I know." she stroked the hair on his forehead out of his eyes and lent forward kissing him sweetly "I knew when we started this thing that you were not the kind of person to take things lying down so I can't really complain now when you do something stupid"

Hook chuckled but then his brow furrowed and he looked at Emma with such sorrow that he looked like a child who was about to cry for his mother.

"I just wanted some peace Love" he closed his eyes again and gave a sigh "For the first time in my life I feel trapped. I can't leave because I need the damn meds that only this place supply otherwise I can't even bloody well think straight. I only wanted to find somewhere quiet...I wanted to be able to stare at the stars and feel the wind on my face...I was going to come back, honestly I was but he rain caught me off guard and I couldn't do it."

David couldn't take it anymore, the decision had been made hours ago anyway when he'd spoken to Mary-Margaret but she had told him to make sure that it was alright with Whale first and now he was taking that decision away from the Doc, he walked down to the bottom of the bed and spoke in a hushed tone

"Whale, we're taking him home tonight"

"What? Are you as crazy as he is?"

"No, I'm perfectly sane... and serious"

"He can't leave, he's not ready to go" Whale defended

"What's stopping him? I mean it, tell me what you are actually doing here apart from making sure he takes his meds on time"

Whale turned on him in a second and hissed "I can assure you we are doing much more than that, his condition was serious in case you have forgotten"

"I've not forgotten but he's stable now, right? Look Doc, I'm not trying to piss you off but he's miserable. He's not sleeping and he's shutting down more and more by the hour, you can see that. At least at home he'd be happy and he'd be able to get the rest he needs"

"He needs round the clock monitoring, he needs temperature checks every four hours and respiratory checks through the night to make sure that his oxygen levels are not dropping"

David sighed "Can we not do that at home? There are three of us there. I'm sure that between us we can do those things"

"You're going to take him either way aren't you" Whale suddenly said with a sigh.

David nodded "More than likely"

"Fine...I'll show you how to do the checks BUT if he shows any signs that his condition is deteriorating you bring him STRAIGHT back in, no arguments. I suppose I can pop in once a day on my way home to check his progress."

David grinned widely "Thanks Doc, I always knew you weren't a total ass"

"Yeah well, I can't say the same for you" Whale muttered as he walked away but David didn't care, he'd give him that one. He turned back and strode up the bed with a huge smile on his face.

"You comfy there? How you feeling?" he grinned at Hook

"Peachy" The Pirate said throwing him a sarcastic smile

"That's a shame then" David said cryptically

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Emma asked frowning at him

"Well if he's comfortable there he might not want to go, I mean that's OK with me too but I thought he'd maybe prefer... I don't know, maybe a soft warm bed in the quiet of... maybe... say, the loft!"

"What?"" Emma practically yelled "You mean it?"

"Sorry but I am slightly confused. What do you mean by the loft? Is that a code name for another part of this damned place or do you actually mean your loft apartment?"

David grinned "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking that I must still be lying out in that bloody rain only now I'm not only cold and wet I am hallucinating too"

"Well if you are I'd just run with it. Now do you want to get out of here or not?"

"Aye" Hook replied but he didn't sound happy

"What's up? I thought you wanted to leave." David threw his hands out "You could sound a bit happier about it"

"Believe me Mate if I could I would but... I hate to say it, I can't"

"What? Why?" Emma suddenly asked

"My head" he replied looking at her again like it was the worst decision he'd ever had to make.

"Oh Killian" she chuckled "I'll just get Whale to write you a script, you'll still get your meds."

"Truly?" he pulled himself up slightly which was quite difficult to do being cocooned in several blankets

"I promise" she said with a smile

"Then what in the blue blazes are we still doing here?" he laughed struggling to free himself

"Just hold your horses Pirate, I've got a few things that I need to sort out with Whale before we go and the first one of them is to get you some fresh pajamas, your naked butt has already been on my seats once tonight, it's not gonna happen again. Give me an hour then we will go"

Hook just grinned widely and lent back on his pillows looking happier than he'd had seen him in a very long time and David couldn't help smiling right along with him. The next week was going to be hard work but it would be worth it to see Emma and Hook happy.

"I'm just going to call your Mom and tell her the good news" David said to Emma before turning back to Hook "and I'm sure Henry will be glad to know that you'll be staying with us for a while"

"As am I, thanks Mate. I really do appreciate this"

"Don't thank me just yet. You may regret this once Mary-Margaret starts her fussing"

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Two hours later and Killian was sitting in a pair of hospital pajamas panting harshly at the table in the loft, Gods those stairs were brutal. His head was spinning again and he had his eyes clamped closed against the tilting room.

"You OK?" Emma whispered as she crouched by his side

"Just... give me... a minute Love" he panted, he felt like he had just ran across the sands of Agrabah, his legs felt wobbly and his throat was dry beyond belief.

"Here" he felt something nudge his arm as David spoke and when he peeked an eye open to look at the man it was to find a glass of water in front of him.

"Thanks" he muttered before taking a few sips, he wanted more than anything to gulp the whole thing down but had learned quickly that it was never a good idea when his stomach felt as it did right now so he placed it on the table in front of him waiting for his gut to settle.

"Do you want to go lie down?" Emma asked gently as she raised herself up to sit in the seat next to him.

He shook his head slightly, he had been lying in a bed for far too long. "Can I sit on the couch for a while?"

"You can sit wherever you like" She answered with a smile

She left him to get his bearings for a few minutes then gently helped him get to his feet making sure that he was steady before heading off across the room where he was lowered onto the soft cushions with a sigh.

"Thanks Love" he whispered as he closed his eyes once more.

He had taken his meds just before leaving the hospital so once the effects of moving about so much wore off Killian began to feel better, the room was quiet as he watched the others going about their business and after a few minutes Swan joined him, sitting herself down by his side and taking his hand in hers. It was still too early for Henry to be up and he guessed on any other day the others would still be sleeping too instead of doing whatever they were doing but he must have dozed off after that thought because the next he knew he was waking up to the smell of breakfast cooking.

He looked to the side to find Emma sleeping on his shoulder and a blanket draped across the two of them.

"Morning" Mary-Margaret whispered as she laid the table "You think you can eat anything?"

He smiled widely at her "If it tastes as good as it smells I'll give it a bloody good go"

Mary-Margaret grinned back at him and just as she was heading back towards the kitchen where David was working at the stove Henry appeared at the top of the stairs, the minute the Lad's eyes fell on Killian his eyebrows shot up on his head and he yelled.

"KILLIAN... you're here!"

Killian chuckled "Aye Lad, I am" but Emma waking by his side drew his attention away from the boy who was now running down the stairs.

"Sorry Mom, I didn't mean to wake you"

"It's alright Kid, I needed to get up anyway" she replied with a sleepy grin before turning to Killian "How are you doing?"

"Better Love" he replied with a wink.

"Good"

Swan lent forward and gave his a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling herself to her feet and stretching with a yawn.

"Something smells good" she called towards the kitchen

"It'll be ready in two, Hook do you need a hand to get to the table?"

"I'll be fine with Emma's assistance, thanks Mate"

He was sitting at the table in no time at all where he found that the Charming's had cooked every possible breakfast that anyone could have thought of. His eyes went wide in surprise as the final plate was laid on the table cloth before him and David sat down.

"Don't get used to this, we just wanted to make today special" David said as he lifted his glass of orange juice. He simply held it in his hand for a second watching Killian struggling for words before lifting it in a toast "Welcome home Hook"

The others all raised their glasses too and Killian suddenly found himself fighting back tears as a lump formed in his throat. They had done this for him, they could have easily just left him in the hospital but they hadn't, they had welcomed him into their home... yet he had nothing to say, all he could manage around his emotion and his nervous smile was

"Thank you"


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been unwell for a few days but I'm fine now.**

 **Tonight I give you one last bit of sick Hook before the final chapter...**

 **Enjoy**

He started to feel it not long after lunch, Swan had insisted that he have a lie down and as he lay staring at the ceiling above him listening to the noise from down on the street below he knew that something was wrong. His head hurt, much more that it had for a long time but the pain seemed to have moved, it currently sat just above his right ear and it was sending pulsing pains out across his face and too make things worse he was pretty sure he had a temperature. He pulled in a deep breath, he couldn't let Swan or the others know what was going on otherwise he'd end up back in that damned hospital which was the last place he wanted to be but he knew that it would be hard to hide, as soon as his first temperature check took place they would call Whale.

He rolled to his side to stare out the open window but the bright light only made his headache worse making him close his eyes with another sigh, when would he ever feel better? A loud noise from outside had him jumping in surprise and his heart thumped in his chest but as he lay there trying to compose himself his eyes fell on to the bedside table where the temperature gauge that they kept sticking in his ear lay ready to be used. His mind started ticking over, what if they didn't have that blasted thing? They couldn't take his temperature if they didn't have it then he could maybe just pass his temperature off as being hot from the soaring heat outside.

He was up on his feet in seconds grabbing the device and shuffling his way over to the open window where he promptly launched it high up into the air so that it fell with a clatter on the far side of the alley at the side of the building.

He closed his eyes against the bright light and shook out his left arm as he turned back towards the bed, he must have lain on it too long as it tingled with the remnants of pins and needles but he froze his movements when he first heard then saw Emma creeping quietly up the metal staircase, she stopped when her eyes fell on the empty bed with a look of panic on her face until she saw him leaning heavily on the window sill.

"Hook, what are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be sleeping" she gasped rushing over to his side.

"Just trying to get some fresh air Love, it's too damn hot in here" he replied with a sigh, he wasn't lying per say, it was very hot.

"You should have just called me, I could have put the air-con on for you"

"Sorry Love" he gave her a smile as she came up to his side and took his arm to guide him back to the bed.

He fell with a sigh back on top of the covers and lay back on the pillows as Emma gave him a look of concern before walking hurriedly around the bed coming back seconds later with some sort of contraption in her hand. He watched her intently as she connected it up the the electricity point on the wall but his thoughts left him when she stepped back and the cool breeze hit him and he let out a groan of appreciation letting his eyes slide shut.

"Will you stay in bed now?" she asked as she scooted herself onto the edge of the bed

"Aye Love" he answered opening an eye and smiling up at her, he was tired but he didn't know if he'd be able to sleep with this new pain in his head, he closed his eyes briefly hoping that he could still pull this off, if only he could get a couple of hours maybe he'd feel better. Swan frowned at him again and brought her hand up to smooth the hair from his forehead.

"You alright?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm just tired but now that you have helped cool me down I will be just fine, Thank you"

That seemed to appease her as she took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze

"OK, get some sleep and I'll see you soon"

He gave her one last smile before finally letting his eyes fall closed just praying that whatever was happening to him wasn't too serious and that it would pass quickly.

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"What's wrong Emma?" Mary-Margaret asked as Emma came down the stairs drawing David's attention away from the show he was watching on TV.

"I'm not sure..." she replied looking over her shoulder back up the stairs

"Why?" David said jumping up and striding across the room

"He just seems off. He says he's was just tired but I'm not buying it, I think he's sleeping now but when I went to do his temperature check I couldn't find the thermometer. Have you seen it?"

"It was on the nightstand, I put it there myself" David replied with a frown

"Well it's not there now" Emma said with a sigh

"I'll go check, maybe it's just fallen down the back or something"

"Be quiet then, don't wake him"

David crept up the metal stairs and tiptoed his way across the room but after a few minutes of searching he came back with nothing, where had the thing gone? He stopped his search to look at the Pirate as he lay on the bed with a deep frown on his face, he was sweating badly and certainly didn't look very well, maybe Emma was right. But David didn't want to have to call Whale if it was nothing, he needed to take Hook's temperature damn it. He walked quickly back down the stairs and met Emma and Mary-Margaret by the dining table.

"Look I was about to pop to and grab more milk anyway I'll just get another thermometer while I'm out. He does look a bit off color but maybe it's just the heat, I don't know"

With that David grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter and headed for the door, he was down the stairs and out on the street in seconds walking quickly towards the store. The sun was beating down now as he marched along, he looked up squinting against the bright light and just hoped that he was wrong, the last thing that any of them wanted was to have to take the Pirate back to the hospital so soon after they got him home but if that's what they needed to do... well they would cross that bridge if they had to.

He was heading back towards the loft less than five minutes later milk in one hand and a brand new thermometer in the other, out of habit he glanced up the alley at the side of their building as he strode past, he kept walking but something on the ground had caught his eye. He stopped and back peddled frowning as he went but when his eyes fell on the missing ear thermometer he looked straight up to see the open window to Emma's room directly above him.

"You stupid idiot" he grit out as he internally cursed the Pirate, he stooped down and grabbed the now broken thermometer then headed back up the stairs bursting through the door to the loft, he didn't even stop he just ran straight up the metal staircase and straight over to the bed.

"Hook, you better wake up right this minute" he growled as he put the milk down on the nightstand

He could hear Emma calling after him but he didn't care, he needed to talk to Hook now. The Pirate blinked his eyes open before seemingly furrowing his brow against the bright light.

"Did you throw this out of the window?" David grit out and he could tell by the look on Hook's face that he was right, what was the Pirate thinking "Why?"

Hook sighed and David already knew the answer but he wanted to hear the Pirate say it.

"I don't want to go back..." Hook sighed letting his eyes slide close again

"You absolute idiot" David snarled dropping down onto the side of Hook's bed

"Dad?" Emma asked coming up the stairs and rushing over "What's going on?"

David met Hook's eyes and the look the Pirate gave him took away his anger, he was an idiot that much was true but all he wanted was to stay at home and not have to go back to the hospital and who could blame him.

"Nothing, it's fine just a misunderstanding" David suddenly said with a fake laugh looking up at his daughter before lifting the new thermometer up"But look what I got"

He turned back to Hook and raised an eyebrow at him making it very clear that this was happening and the Pirate to his credit didn't argue, he just sighed and opened his mouth as David brought the thermometer up to his face.

"Keep that under your tongue" David chastised standing up to let Emma sit down in his place, he could see her taking up Hook's hand while they waited.

After about a minute David lent over and pulled the thermometer out and looked at it, he was surprise to see that it was maybe a little high but not what he had been expecting but he knew that the Pirate didn't know that so he just lowered his hand and raised an eyebrow.

"Right, spill Pirate. I want to know exactly what is going on with you right now"

Hook sighed and let his eyes slide shut again.

"Head hurts" and as if to emphasize the point he gave a groan pulling his hand from Emma's and placing it onto the side of his head.

"You're head hurts there?" David asked cautiously, that's not where his pain had been before, it was always at the back of his head.

"Aye"

"OK, does it feel like the same pain as before or is it different?"

"Different" Hook answered with a sigh "Sharp"

"Alright, anything else?"

He watched as Hook gave a grimace then tried to move his left arm but his movements were sloppy and the limb fell back to the bedding.

"Arm... tingly"

Panic hit David hard at these last words "What do you mean tingly? Like pins and needles? Is anything else tingly?"

Hook gave a slight shake of his head but David was still worried, the man looked ill now. He'd taken on a pale clammy look that had nothing to do with the temperature outside, the room was quite cool now from the air-con unit.

"OK... I need to call Whale, I'm sorry. I know you don't want to go back but this just doesn't sound right to me"

Half an hour later David's worry only grew as Emma looked up at him frantically, she had been chatting with Hook but in the last few minutes his speech had become slow and slurred and he seemed to be really struggling with the pain in his head.

David had closed the blinds trying to dim the light but Hook seemed to beyond appreciating the effects and just as David glanced at his cell again to look at the time wondering what the hell was taking Whale so long he heard the apartment door opening then slamming shut.

"DAVID?"

"Up here"

Whale was up the stairs in seconds and striding across the room.

"Miss Swan, some room if you please" he grit out before sitting in the space that Emma got up from. "Any change?"

"He's struggling to talk" Emma said in a hushed whisper, her face was a picture of worry.

Tension hung in the air as Whale worked, David's mind ran away with itself as he stood at the bottom of the bed with Emma on one side and Mary-Margaret on the other. He couldn't help but fear the worst as he watched the Doc take out his light and shine it in Hook's eyes again eliciting a moan from the Pirate but the words that followed were unintelligible, it just sounded like nonsense.

"What's wrong with him?" Emma asked suddenly stepping forward and gripping the bedstead

But Whale the reply Whale gave didn't answer her question.

"I told you he wasn't ready to leave but would you listen?" he muttered making David bite back

"Alright Whale, the last thing any of us need is you saying "I told you so" now would you just tell us what the hell is going on. Is he going to be OK?"

"He'll be fine" was all that Whale said pulling himself up from the bed

"What?" David didn't understand, Hook looked beyond awful now as he lay with his eyes clamped shut "What's wrong with him?"

"Migraine" Whale scribbled out something on a bit of paper then held it out to David as Emma walked around them both to go back to her Pirate's side. "Here, take this script. The medication is to be dissolved on the tongue, if the first one doesn't work he can have another one four to six hours later for up to three days. If it's not cleared up by then we'll look at something else"

"Three days!" David exclaimed

"Yes, three days. Sometimes they go after a few hours sometimes they can last days... let's just hope this is not a long attack. They are not uncommon after what he has gone though and more than likely this won't be his last one but the good news is that they usually disappear after a few months. I'll come back in tonight on my way home to check on him. What you've done here is good, the dim light should help but make sure that he's drinking plenty, he may very well develop nausea too and we don't need him getting dehydrated"

David couldn't believe it but he took the script anyway before looking back at the Pirate on the bed, this was a migraine? He had thought for the last fifteen minutes that Hook had suffered a stroke or something equally serious, he'd kept his thoughts to himself not wanting to worry Emma but he had a sneaking suspicion that she had thought exactly the same by the way she had been acting.

Whale clipped his bag closed and headed for the stairs.

"I'd get that script sooner rather than later" he said raising a brow

"Thanks Doc" was all David could say in reply still in slight shock at what had just happened in the room but he was following Whale seconds later heading for the pharmacy but not before he had dropped a kiss on Mary-Margaret's head and given her a reassuring smile "Be back soon"

Would the Pirate ever stop worrying the hell out of him? Hook had been through so much already and yet he still knew how to ratch it up a notch, some might think he was doing it on purpose. David shook his head with a wry smile on his face then muttered

"This better not last three days Pirate, I'm giving you twenty four hours and that's it."


	15. Chapter 15

**Final chapter... I'm sad but happy, so torn.**

 **Brain is already buzzing with a twinkle of an idea, just need to work out the logistics of a good story now.**

 **Please please please review, they make me super happy and inspire me to carry on with a new story :D**

 **Enjoy**

Two bloody days, that's how long it had taken him to feel even close to human again. His speech had returned and the numbness in his arm had finally left but Swan had insisted that he stay in bed until Whale said that he was OK to get up. Killian currently sat with his feet on the floor, Emma was on his left while Whale poke and prodded him for what felt like the hundredth time in forty eight hours. His spots had mostly faded faded now and his breathing was much better, the only real issues that remained were his "normal" headaches and the inability to balance very well.

"You've made good progress" Whale said packing his stethoscope back into his bag as he stood up form the edge of Emma's bed "I think you're good to start getting up and about again, just take it easy"

"When will these headaches end and why can I still not walk in a bloody straight line without falling over? That's what I want to know" Killian grumbled as he pulled his pajama top back down.

"Give it time. Believe me when I say that you are very lucky to only have these two issues. A lot of people have a lot worse after going through what you did"

Killian sighed, he just wanted to be able to do things for himself again but Whale was right, he was lucky. Emma rubbed her hand across his back and he looked up at her with a smile.

"It'll be OK you know" she said with a smile of her own.

"Aye Love" he agreed as she lent over and kissed his cheek

Whale left a few minutes later and Killian lay back on his pillows with another sigh just staring up at the wooden ceiling as Swan walked the Doctor out. As he lay there he could hear David walking about on the roof outside, the Prince had been out there for hours now, what the hell was he doing? Killian had thought that he would surely be back inside once he awoke from his nap but he wasn't and he wasn't being particularly quiet either. He was apparently fixing a leak but Killian now wasn't convinced that he had told him the truth, it had been hot and dry for the last two days and this was the first a leak had been mentioned.

As Killian lay there he could smell whatever Mary-Margaret was cooking for dinner, he had no clue what it was but it smelt delicious and his mouth instantly watered at the thought of the meal that he would surely be tucking into soon. He had barely been able to stomach anything the day after the migraine had struck and had only managed light meals yesterday which meant that now he was no longer feeling like a corpse he was famished. He lay trying to figure out what was being cooked by the smells alone but gave up when David poked his head through the window then pulled himself into the room from the fire escape grinning like a fool.

"What did Whale say?" he asked wiping his hand across his brow, he looked like he'd been working hard at something.

Killian furrowed his brow, how had David known that Whale had been here?

"I saw him down on the street when I looked over the edge of the roof... when I was... uhm... checking the guttering"

"Guttering?" Killian asked raising an eyebrow high on his head "What are you really doing out there?"

"Fixing a leak" David reiterated with a shrug "Now what did Whale say?"

"He said that I'm making good progress and that I can finally get out of bed" Killian answered looking back at the ceiling again before closing his eyes with another sigh

"Well that's good then, what's with the face?"

Killian didn't want to sound ungrateful, the Charmings had done so much for him and he truly did appreciate it but he was going stir crazy stuck in the loft all day. Now that he was feeling better he was desperate to go outside but with his balance issues Swan had said that it would be too much for him so soon after the migraine and he was inclined to agree, just the thought of all those stairs made him feel queasy.

"I just... I just miss everything. I miss my ship, I miss feeling the wind on my face and the smell of the ocean. I miss dropping into the station and surprising Swan with lunch, I miss doing research with Belle in the library and acting stupid with Henry...I even miss sparring with the Crocodile. David I feel like a trapped animal and I know that sounds stupid but I fear that I am going to lose my mind if I don't get my life back soon."

"Right, on your feet Pirate" David was suddenly at Killian's side grabbing his slippers and shoving them where he could easily step into them.

"What? Why?"

"You want to know what I was doing on the roof? Well come on"

David helped him struggle to his feet and into his slippers letting him catch his balance for a second and while he was standing there composing himself Emma suddenly appeared back at the top of the stairs.

"What's up?" she said casually eyeing her Father.

"It's time" David answered with a smile

Emma grinned back as she came up to Killian's side "Really? Great work Dad. Here let me help him, you go ahead"

"Swan, what's going on?" Killian asked as she started leading him towards the window.

"Just wait and see" she grinned back.

Getting out the window onto the fire escape was not as hard as he thought it was going to be but the vertigo that hit him when he looked down through the metal steps was new and he clamped his eyes closed against the feeling.

"It's OK, I've got you. It's just your funky balance thing, come on don't look down and you'll be fine"

Swan was right, once he raised his gaze and looked up instead of down his head settled and they started to move slowly up the one flight of stairs onto the roof. It was getting late but it looked like it was going to be another warm evening as the sun fell in the sky sending out a warm rosy glow across the evening sky.

Just before their heads came up over the edge of the roof Emma suddenly stopped and gave him a wide smile.

"Close your eyes"

"Love?"

"Just trust me" she giggled

And he did, of course he did, so he just did as Emma had asked and let her guide him the rest of the way. The drop from the final metal step to the roof top was bigger than he had anticipated and he stumbled slightly but Emma gripped him tightly to stop him from falling and held him steady until he got his bearings.

"You good?" she asked and he could practically hear the smile on her face

"Aye" he replied with a chuckle "Will you let me look now?"

"Just wait Pirate, have patience" she giggled in reply

They took a few more steps forward until Emma finally stopped and stood by his side.

"OK Dad, you ready?"

"Two secs... yip, done"

Killian was beyond curious now, what had David been doing up here?

"OK, you can open your eyes" Emma whispered

He drew in a deep breath and let it out opening his eyes at the same time only to gasp in surprise at the sight before him. There in the middle of the roof was a bed, not just a mattress but a whole bed made up with beautifully embroidered bedding but that wasn't all, there were little lights on strings strung out in long swags all around a dining table that had been laid out for a meal.

"Swan? What? How? I don't... "

Killian looked back at Emma in confusion, how had they got all this stuff up here? Emma grinned widely at him.

"You said you wanted to see the stars so I figured that if we were going to do it, we'd do it in style"

Killian blinked his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, Emma tugged his hand and pulled him towards the table showing him to sit down and just as he was lowering himself into his chair soft music started playing from somewhere off to his right, Killian looked to the side to see David standing up and smiling widely at him.

"I'm confused, how did you get all this stuff up here?" he pointed at the bed still not believing that it was there in front of him before looking back to Emma for answers.

"Let's just say I've moved on from mugs of hot chocolate, getting it up here was easy... Dad setting it all up quietly was much more... challenging shall we say" Emma grinned raising an eyebrow at him and he couldn't help it when a grin split his face, they had done this for him?

"I hope you're hungry" Mary-Margaret's voice carried over from the staircase and Killian turned to see her walking towards him with two plates full of food, she smiled at him sweetly as she put the meal down in front of him then turned to David "Come on Charming, yours is downstairs, let's leave these two to it"

With that they did just that leaving Killian still sitting in shock at what he was seeing, he looked back at Emma with his mouth still hanging open.

"This is... " words failed him

"I know" Emma grinned "and at least this time when you're stargazing you won't get wet, I checked the forecast and the skies will be clear all night, now eat before it gets cold"

This was just the beginning of the most perfect night, they ate their meal and chatted then Emma helped him move across to the bed where they lay in each others arms for a while, Killian must have nodded off at one point because when he woke it was truly dark and Emma was lying on her back checking her phone.

"Sorry Love" he mumbled in a sleepy voice turning his head on the pillow to look at her.

"It's OK" she replied turning onto her side and pulling herself into his side "How's the head? You're overdue your meds"

He could feel the dull thud starting to build, he knew that she was right but he just smiled at her as he gave a stretch and a yawn.

"Come on, let's get you those pills and you can use the washroom while we're down there then we can get settled for the night"

Fifteen minutes later he was settled back on the bed except this time they were both under the covers lying on their backs staring at the night sky. He sighed contentedly when Swan's hand took hold of his stump and just held it, he loved how it didn't bother her.

"You know I don't really know the names of all the constellations in this realm Swan" he chuckled

"I know but you already know more than me and I've lived here all my life, besides it's much more fun to make up names like... look at that one, it looks like a giant kite, see it?"

"That's Pegasus Love" He chuckled but the constellation had him thinking of the sail that had once adorned his beloved ship, the sail that he himself had set ablaze to stop anyone else using it to get back to Neverland after he had lost Liam.

"What is it?" Emma's concerned voice reached through his musings and he turned his head to see her worried face

He gave her a sad smile "I was just thinking."

"About?" she asked coming up onto her elbows and resting her chin on his chest

"Liam" he replied with a sigh "When we traveled to Neverland all those years ago we used a sail that was made of feathers from Pegasus himself, after he..." he drew in a breath "after Liam died I set the sail ablaze, that way no one could ever use it to return to that infernal Island. I thought it would make me feel better but as I stood watching the flames engulf the sail I just felt empty, I had still lost my Brother, he was still gone"

He looked at Emma's face suddenly realizing that she looked worried.

"What's wrong Love? Don't worry about me, it was a long time ago. I have made my peace with all that has happened"

"It's not that, I just know how you felt back then... When we were back in the Enchanted Forest in that other reality I lost you" she looked right into his eyes and it felt like she was peering into his soul with her round sorrowful eyes.

"It's alright Love, you didn't lose me, I'm right here" he soothed not wanting this night to turn into another sad occasion

"I know but when I watched you die I made a promise to myself that if your plan succeeded and we all got home in one piece I was going to tell you something but when it came to it I couldn't do it. I broke my own promise to myself then you got ill and I thought I was going to lose you for real this time and I couldn't stop hating myself for not telling you the minute we got back"

"Tell me what Love?" He asked as his heart picked up a beat, was she finally going to admit her feelings? She had been so close on the day they returned to Storybrooke but she had not been ready and that had been OK, he loved her enough for both of them.

"Killian I have spent my life running away from everything. After Neal I refused to let anyone else in... until you. I knew from the minute I met you that we had a connection, you got me like nobody else ever had and I saw through your act to the man inside, you were hurting but more than that you were lost too just like me"

A tear tumbled down her cheek and he raised his hand to wipe it away stroking his thumb gently across her cheek.

"It's alright Love, I'm not going anywhere... survivor remember?" he gave her a crooked smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I know but it's time. It's time that I kept my promise to myself. I'm not scared anymore, I know that you're not going to up and leave me when things get tough, you'll be by my side always soooooo the thing I wanted to tell you was... I love you"

She actually looked scared as the words finally came out of her mouth but the minute Killian's smile split his face she grinned right back at him.

"About bloody time Swan. Do you have any idea how long I have waited to hear those words? And just in case you didn't know... I love you too"

They both grinned at each other but Killian's gaze fell from Emma's eyes to her lips suddenly realizing that they were truly alone for the first time in a very long time. Any further thought of conversation was lost on the two of them as their lips crashed together knowing that no matter what happened in life they would be fine because they had each other.


End file.
